US / THEM: Lost late 90s NYC "Moth" trio THE SPELLS to release debut LP nearly 30 years after recording, in-depth interview out now

Thursday, September 11, 2025

Lost late 90s NYC "Moth" trio THE SPELLS to release debut LP nearly 30 years after recording, in-depth interview out now

Photo credit: Nick Zinner

“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

"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.")

Hear/share the single "Lilith" via all DSPs HERE.

All 3 members of The Spells detail their story today in an in-depth interview with It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine 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.