Image courtesy of Craft Spells Myspace.

Over the past two years, the Seattle, WA via Stockton, CA band have built moderate internet buzz by posting vague information on their Myspace page and leaking singles and EPs through the blogosphere.

Their debut full-length album "Idle Labor" officially drops today, and while the band’s rise to indie distinction follows a decidedly millennial trajectory, the album itself sounds as if lifted from a John Hughes movie soundtrack. 

Strung together by Vallesteros’ lilting vocals, eleven tracks on "Idle Labor" layer wistfully romantic lyrics over gentle synth beats, creating a melancholically danceable sound that harkens back to bands like The Cure and Simple Minds. 

Like those of their forbearers, Craft Spells’ songs celebrate the ephemeral nature of love, chronicling moments from courtship to breakup through a sweetly reminiscent lens. The album opens, “Despite all our conflicts/I still sit and adore you…even though our love has died/you’re still mine,” with the song “For the Ages,” honoring the significance of lost love. “Time stood still for another chance,” Vallesteros croons in the aptly-named “The Fog Rose High,” a track that documents the dizzying moment of mutual attraction in a twinkly cloud of instrumentation. 

Though the ‘80s mood dominates the sound of "Idle Labor," the album includes a few departures from the theme. “Party Talk,” one of the more danceable tracks on the album showcases a Caribbean calypso vibe, and the synth in “After the Moment” sounds more 2011 than 1986. 

Rather than seeming out of place, these deviations breathe fresh air into a track list that could otherwise feel a bit stale. However, even the album’s most upbeat moments are decidedly low key, and listeners looking for an obvious single may be disappointed in its rhythmic consistency. This is not an album that shouts at you, rather one that unfolds with repeated listening. 

Overall, "Idle Labor" marks a solid debut for Craft Spells. The band’s eighties and new wave-meets-aughties chill sounds compliment the dewy nostalgia expressed in their lyrics. As the album fades out, Vallesteros repeats, “Turn our backs to the end of time/so we can make the moment stay.” Though "Idle Labor" offers only slight variety in terms of tempo and scale, its eleven tracks make up a cohesive collection that fills its own specific moment in time. Lucky for the listener, reliving this one is as easy as pressing play.

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