“The Night Has Eyes sounds as young and wild as we might on the good (or bad) days, and well (well, well, well) worth the wait.” -- Zach Lipez, CREEM Magazine
"A gothic garage gem." -- Echoes & Dust
"You can hear their ragged punk roots, haunted melodies and flashes of PJ Harvey's sonic influence. Filled with jagged and beautiful songs... emerges like the glorious ghost of the underground." -- Psychedelic Baby
“The Night Has Eyes captures a band that has crafted a sound that is both unique and exciting.” — Spill Magazine
“A record that feels like it was summoned by black-magic ceremony, teeming with the primal lust and supernatural violence that animates rock ‘n’ roll at its most deviant and dangerous.” — Bandcamp Daily
Long lost NYC trio The Spells release their long-overdue 1997 debut album The Night Has Eyes today in a deluxe LP & 16-page booklet package via Garganta Press. The album was shelved shortly after recording when the band dissolved, but its legend grew over time -- Zachary Lipez of CREEM Magazine offers this excellent essay about the band and fertile scene of the era (which he also profiled in a feature on the 90s mod/goth sub-subculture he terms "Moths.") Hear/share the album The Night Has Eyes via Bandcamp HERE.
Bandcamp Daily named it their Album of the Day alongside this excellent review by Stuart Berman HERE.
All 3 members of The Spells detail their story in an in-depth interview with via Echoes & Dust HERE.
The Spells were Nicole Barrick (guitar, vocals), Marisa Pool (bass, vocals), Leni Zumas (drums). Rising from the ashes of a previous incarnation called The Read Scare, The Spells formed in Austin, TX in 1995, and broke up in New York City in 1998. A dark gem from the NYC 90's underground, the unreleased album The Night Has Eyes, produced in November 1997 by Greg Talenfeld at Waterworks, NYC, will debut on vinyl in 2025 via Garganta Press.
For the first time on vinyl, a lost gem of 90's garage punk for the darkly inclined. Recorded in 1997 by Greg Talenfeld (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Pavement, The Walkmen) and never released, The Night Has Eyes is a hidden treasure unearthed from the fertile end-of-the-century NYC underground scene. The record comes with a 16-page booklet with never-seen-before pictures of the band shot in 1997 and 1998 by Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Iggy Pop) and Lilian Lee.
Recorded and mixed by Greg Talenfeld at Waterworks, NYC in November 1997
Produced by Greg Talenfeld and The Spells
Mastered for LP by Honza Kapak at Hellsound Studio, Czech Republic, January 2025
The Night Has Eyes is available on Halloween 2025 on LP/booklet and digital via Garganta Press. Orders are available HERE.
“The Night Has Eyes sounds as young and wild as we might on the good (or bad) days, and well (well, well, well) worth the wait.” -- Zach Lipez, CREEM Magazine
"A gothic garage gem." -- Echoes & Dust
"You can hear their ragged punk roots, haunted melodies and flashes of PJ Harvey's sonic influence. Filled with jagged and beautiful songs... emerges like the glorious ghost of the underground." -- Psychedelic Baby
Long lost NYC trio The Spells announce the long-overdue release of their 1997 debut album The Night Has Eyes in a deluxe LP & 16-page booklet package via Garganta Press. The album was shelved shortly after recording when the band dissolved, but its legend grew over time -- Zachary Lipez of CREEM Magazine offers this excellent essay about the band and fertile scene of the era (which he also profiled in a feature on the 90s mod/goth sub-subculture he terms "Moths.")
All 3 members of The Spells detail their story today in an in-depth interview with album stream via Echoes & Dust HERE.
The Spells were Nicole Barrick (guitar, vocals), Marisa Pool (bass, vocals), Leni Zumas (drums). Rising from the ashes of a previous incarnation called The Read Scare, The Spells formed in Austin, TX in 1995, and broke up in New York City in 1998. A dark gem from the NYC 90's underground, the unreleased album The Night Has Eyes, produced in November 1997 by Greg Talenfeld at Waterworks, NYC, will debut on vinyl in 2025 via Garganta Press.
For the first time on vinyl, a lost gem of 90's garage punk for the darkly inclined. Recorded in 1997 by Greg Talenfeld (Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Pavement, The Walkmen) and never released, The Night Has Eyes is a hidden treasure unearthed from the fertile end-of-the-century NYC underground scene. The record comes with a 16-page booklet with never-seen-before pictures of the band shot in 1997 and 1998 by Nick Zinner (Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Iggy Pop) and Lilian Lee.
Recorded and mixed by Greg Talenfeld at Waterworks, NYC in November 1997
Produced by Greg Talenfeld and The Spells
Mastered for LP by Honza Kapak at Hellsound Studio, Czech Republic, January 2025
The Night Has Eyes will be available on Halloween 2025 on LP/booklet and digital via Garganta Press. Pre-orders are available HERE.
"Genre-agnostic quartet with classic rock energy and brassy punk politics... channeling the raw energy of punk." -- Austin Chronicle
“ARTIST OF THE MONTH, March 2025: Infectious garage rock energy. A furious mix of ferocious guitars, a technical knock-out rhythm section, and lyrics that would make all of the legendary Beat Poets howl in approval.” — KUTX
"Kick ass to bombastic levels." -- Cosmic Clash
“Noisy, fuzzy punk with a distinct pop sensibility… Full of energy and anger while also managing to be a lot of fun.”— New Noise Magazine
“Gus Baldwin has the chops, the energy, and the talent that’ll lead him to greatness.”– GhettoBlaster Magazine
“The album may not lean as heavily into punk as the album with The Sketch, but it’s got a lot more variety and a lot of cool musical experimentation. That makes it a standout to me.” – Jersey Beat
“Gus Baldwin has evolved into a bonafide heir to Texas rock’n’roll. His self-titled debut solo album marks his most confident work yet: the venom of 70s proto-punk, the chiming, desperate hooks of 80s power-pop, the psychfuzz of 60s, and the busted-heart of 90s indie rock.” — It’s Psychedelic Baby! Magazine
Austin artist Gus Baldwin shares the official video for "The Pesticide Song" today from his newly released self-titled full length solo debut album. The video launched earlier via New Noise Magazine HERE. Watch and share the video now via YouTube HERE.
Gus Baldwin, the album, released on Friday, October 24th on LP, download and all streaming platforms. Gus Baldwin is available to hear & share on all DSPs HERE. Vinyl LPs and downloads are available at Bandcamp HERE.
Gus Baldwin & The Sketch launch Western US shows this week supporting Bass Drum of Death starting October 30. See all tour dates below, tickets are HERE.
Gus Baldwin & the Sketch was the Artist of the Month for March at local NPR affiliate KUTX. Read the interview HERE. The bandwas also featured in a front cover story in alt weekly paper the Austin Chronicle. Read the feature story HERE.
Gus Baldwin is a 20-something singer/songwriter/ex-hippie/part-time punk hailing from Austin, TX. He splits his time constantly performing as a one man garage band, or with his band The Sketch, and as a frequent collaborator with other local acts. His music spans an array of time periods (80s power-pop, 60s psych, 70s proto-punk, 90s indie rock), and his forthcoming self-titled debut solo full length showcases the immensity of his talents in making all of those influences sound fresh and new.
“Each song on the record is a different piece of me trying to figure out who I was, and how the world was changing around me,” Baldwin says. “It’s a document of my early 20s.” And, it’s a document of an artist finding his voice from within several entanglements. More on that in a moment…
The debut full length by Gus Baldwin & The Sketch, titled simply The Sketch was released earlier in 2025 to much critical acclaim: Austin NPR affiliate KUTX’s Artist of The Month in March, a front cover story in Austin Chronicle and Best Punk Band nomination, as well as personal invitations to support Jack White and tour with Bass Drum of Death in Fall 2025.
While The Sketch continues to tour the US (and soon the EU) and write, Gus’ solo album serves to fill in the shades and background that made him. To wit: After a stint holding down drums for Dallas surf punk legends Sealion in high school, Baldwin went on to form the psych-pop combo Acid Carousel, which he led for 6 years and 20-ish releases before departing the band on Halloween night 2021. Quickly releasing a string of solo titles on his own GetWithIt! Records imprint, including the EPs THRILLER II, and Live Bugs, as well as a slew of singles, Gus established himself firmly as the godson of Texas rock 'n’ roll. Teaming up with former Acid Carousel bandmates, and other friends, Gus formed The Sketch in 2022 with bassist Lucas Martins, guitarist David Rawlinson, and drummer Trey Gutierrez.
“At the time of writing most of these tunes, I was still in Acid Carousel and fed up with how things were going, and mostly tired of the psych bag I had been put in,” Baldwin says. The pandemic was a prolific time for him, with a personal mission to write and record a new track every other day on his 4-track recorder. “It’s interesting seeing the songs written for Carousel put on the same album with the ones written right after both my breakup with that band, and my long term relationship. It made sense to put these all together to document my personal journey from age 21 to now.”
The 12-track album was recorded on a Tascam 388 8-track tape machine at the home studio of Baldwin’s friend Ramiro Verdooren over many sessions throughout 2022-2023. Roky Moon (American Sharks) recorded the final touches and mixed the album, with Joey Oaxaca mastering in Los Angeles.
Gus Baldwin is available on LP and download, released on October 24th, 2025 via Permanent Teeth. Orders are available HERE.
