Craft Spells - Idle Labor 76/100

In recent years indie has leaned heavily on the 1980's for inspiration. Each artist processes their influences from that decade, sets them to music recorded or produced on their laptop and unleashes a pop record from the confines of their bedroom. Whether that music comes in the form of chillwave (Washed Out), beach rock (Beach Fossils) or gothpop (Wild Nothing), some of the most noteworthy progress in rock seems to emanate from such designs. Idle Hands by Craft Spells fits quitely into that growing crowd as a dutiful piece of nostalgia shaped through modern musical mores.

Unlike similar genre enthusiasts Diamond Rings, Craft Spells do their best work when they favor the upbeat asthetics over the darker side of their guiding decade. They use strategically placed guitar chords to augment the rhythms to"Scandinavian Crush" and "Party Talk," giving them a much shinier sound. The latter features chintzy noises similar to the sounds of the falling pins found on "Ideoteque" by Radiohead. The influence of touring partners Beach Fossils reocurrs throughout the album, especially on "From the Morning Heat" and "You Should Close The Door." Craft Spells borrows from their useage of watery guitars and echoy reverb but falls short of developing a dependency on them like the former group. "After The Moment" grooves along with such ease and sprightly keys that one could easily mistake it for a lost pop hit from 1987. Early Cure even gets a nod in "Your Tomb," though the synth runs that formulate the basis for the song sound more common to John Hates Jazz than Robert Smith.

Craft Spells doesn't completely ignore the doledroms, however. The drum machine and tin guitar tones of "For The Ages" immediately recall "Drifter" by labelmates Wild Nothing. "Given The Time" could stand side-by-side with the somber dream pop made by Twin Shadow, even down to its stuttering beat, which serves as an anchor for a meloncholy melody. These guys thrive on the cheery sentiments heard in "Party Talk" and "After The Moment," and although their forays into darker sounds do them no harm, they have room for improvement.

Evaluating music under such circumstances often creates a conundrum. With so many like-minded artists, labels and producers, it's hard to keep them sorted appropriately. The genre seems most comparable to the constantly revolving doors of a major city hotel; people come and go as they please and often are never seen there again. The biggest issue with Idle Hands comes from the ability to pinpoint nearly every influence, contemporary or not. While they serve as a great template to a band clearly able to produce wonderful pop, perhaps in the future Craft Spells will feature more of themselves and less of all the others listed above.