The Comas were never supposed to amount to much. Conceived in Chapel Hill as a tongue-in-cheek byproduct of the late-90s alt-country movement, the band somehow got its shit together by 2004 to record Conductor, an album with clever nods to classic indie yet seemingly tailor-made for the then blossoming O.C. Mix audience. While Conductor raked in generally positive reviews, it couldn't quite do the same with teenage girls' allowances, leaving the band in a strange limbo between grass-roots and mass market indie.
Nothing better represents this toed line than the Comas' new label, Vagrant Records, home to indie icons like the Hold Steady and Paul Westerberg yet also to monsters who twisted reputable musical influences into schmaltzy lucre, namely Dashboard Confessional and Saves the Day. Spells falls somewhere along this spectrum, packed with sharp songwriting yet also furnished with an overabundance of ad hoc accommodations. Pristine string sections make the ballads sound bigger, immaculate production facilitates the band's genre-hopping, and many other accouterments make Spells's tracks sound more put together than they actually are.
Although purists may hurl sell-out accusations due to this shinier, happier sound, the capricious nature of Spells is a welcome reaction to the brooding, bitter Conductor. Frontman Andy Herod's breakup with former "Dawson's Creek" actress Michelle Williams hung over that album like a shitstorm, resulting in the embarrassingly transparent "Tonight on the WB". Perhaps more than breakup therapy, the album tripped out in psych escapism, often obsessing over science fiction topics. Apparently rejuvenated, Herod reverts to a more level-headed persona on Spells.
Single and standout track "Red Microphones" taps some great 90s vibes, from the lifted fuzz-bass riff of Pavement's "Kennel District" to the D&D geek rock shtick Rivers Cuomo nailed on early Weezer albums: "Move forth the realm of chalice seeker/ Call down the knights of ghostly towers." On "Now I'm a Spider", Herod and guitarist/singer Nicole Gehweiler combine forces for a plodding noise pop gem with a killer chorus, nestled nicely between upbeat rockers "Hannah T." and "Come My Sunshine". Even the sleepy, Elliott Smith-like number "Thistledown" hedges its gloom with bursts of uplifting guitar riffs and lush vocal harmonies.
Interestingly enough though, Spells hopskotches from touchstone to touchstone pretty effortlessly yet tapers off at the extremes. Despite their chugging power chords and overdriven riffs, "Stonedad" and "New Wolf" don't quite fuck shit up as satisfyingly as they could, packing barely more muscle than an Everclear or Third Eye Blind "stomper." Conversely, the closing ballad "After the Afterglow" relies too much on dramatic usage of studio space, milking every last drop of poignancy from those reverberated guitar squalls and string arrangements. These limitations hardly damage the Comas' college band charm, but their inability to come up with truly novel material leaves them stuck at indie's Triple AAA level both artistically and commercially. However, while that call to the majors may never come, Spells proves the band's more than just a face in the crowd, and way more engaged in their music than your average Starbucks-friendly unit shifter.
