As its title suggests, this compilation of Austin and Houston bands sports a blanket theme of magic and witchcraft. Ultimately, vinyl fetishists will be the first to become bewitched; the record, a limited edition of 1000, is pressed on lovely clear vinyl.
Obviously, it takes more than novelty vinyl to make a record worthwhile, and this is where The Peek-A-Boo Book of Spells really delivers. This is more than just a creatively-themed excuse to show off the Peek-A-Boo roster, though said bands represent well. Trail of Dead make an obligatory appearance as perhaps the highest-profile act here, though critical darlings Knife in the Water make more of an impression with the spookily pleasurable "A Spell for Some Summer Day". Junior Varsity are predictably peppy on "Voodoo Voodoo", which sounds like it was pulled from the soundtrack of an obscure B-Movie -- The Zombie Letterman, perhaps -- and Post Parlo Records' Subset checks in with the proggish "Twelve-Sided Die". The A-side also offers a couple of delightful surprises -- at least to this non-Texan. "The Process" are delightfully goth, mixing the March Violets' most atonal moments with a mechanical Europunk detachment. Roar!Lion, which features the Kiss Offs' Phillip Niemeyer, has some of the same Romeo Voidish coldness that makes the Kiss Offs enjoyable, but their tune "The Witchhunt" is a more sinuous, dangerous creature.
The B-side starts strong with Silver Scooter's "Remembering the Middle Ages", a bouncy, keyboard-blip-driven tune that comes across better than the band's other recent efforts. The Kiss Offs feverish interpretation of "Red Underwear/Seductra" shows the band at the top of their game, mixing the B52-style interplay between Niemeyer and Katey Jones with the new wave proto-goth perversion of 45 Grave. This song deserves a single release. And there's more good stuff to come. Eskimo Kisses' "Bloody Mary" is a straightforward indie rock creepout, and manages to drag the hypnotist's mantra, "Light as a feather/stiff as a board" into its lyrics. The Maulies' "Witches Brew" spells out the titular recipe, with band members shouting out ingredients (eye of newt, baboon blood, etc.) between instrumental bridges. And since no witchy Satan-rally is complete without a bit of Black Sabbath, the Wontons give a joyful DIY spin to "The Wizard".
Add further goodies by Port Vale, Fivehead, Woozyhelmet, Super XX Man and the always excellent Prima Donnas and you have a compilation that's, ahem, spellbindingly good. This, of course, assumes that you don't mind lo-fi, occasionally tinny-sounding slacker rock with a few of its seams showing. Anyone with a passing knowledge of the Austin and Houston scenes could probably name enough equally worthwhile bands to justify a second volume, but this Book of Spells has been surprisingly well edited. Like the best thematically-driven compilations, it not only shows the label's own acts at their very best, but gives ample evidence of a diverse and thriving regional music scene. And that, I think you'll agree, is the best kind of magic.
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