Spell

THE SPELL, the seventh release from San Diego's the Black Heart Procession, combines the band's early minimalist tendencies with the rock richness of 2002's AMORE DEL TROPICO. The Procession still wade in dark, melancholic waters, offering up Gothic Americana soundscapes of bleak introspection, but on the aptly named THE SPELL they add inspired songcraft, rock guitars, and pointed lyrical themes--political and otherwise--to their trademark atmospherics. The blend of elements, along with a sense of underlying tension in the playing and song structures, makes THE SPELL one of the band's most consistent and exciting releases.