If Boyscott’s sophomore album sounds steeped in the aesthetic of indie rock’s early-’10s beach-going era—and if you refuse to acknowledge that that period was so long ago that it’s already cycling back into fashion—the reason for that may stem from the fact that Scott Hermo Jr.’s project hasn’t been active since the 2015 release of his debut album, Goose Bumps. Which makes his new record Spellbound both refreshingly nostalgic and ahead of the curve at the same time—it’s a celebration of the movement that brought us clear-skies recordings from The Drums, Cayucas, and Real Estate, as well as a very reasonable guess as to what the next TikTok trend might look like.
And while “Mansard Roof” is a clear reference point for these songs, we asked Hermo to take us a little deeper into the vision board for Spellbound. He may reference the carefree lyrics of Beat Happening’s Calvin Johnson, the economical song structures of Frankie Cosmos, and the heavy edge of Pile as primary influences, but by the end of the playlist it becomes clear that Spellbound is most heavily inspired by his band’s own past and present backing players—as well as those he’s poached for Boyscott’s live band after touring with them.
With the record out today via Topshelf, check out all of Hermo’s picks below. You can also listen to Spellbound here, and find the band’s upcoming headlining tour dates here.
Women, “Black Rice”
I discovered Women right when I began writing this album. This song in particular blew my mind—the arrangement, the melodies, the recording, the dynamics. Got me excited to get out of bed in the morning.
Beat Happening, “Our Secret”
I fell in love with this song right when we released Goose Bumps. Calvin Johnson’s carefree and fun lyrics were really inspiring, and I definitely took direct influence from that song in a bunch of our new songs, especially “Cabin Fever.”
Vampire Weekend, “Mansard Roof”
This song’s arrangement and energy is so wild, I love it so much. Ever since hearing it in high school, I’ve wanted to try to make fun, upbeat music. “Moose Head” was my attempt to make a goofy, fun, energetic song.
Frankie Cosmos, “I Do Too”
Frankie Cosmos is one of my all-time favorite bands. I’ve always been heavily influenced by Zentropy in particular—the melodies, the brevity, [Greta Kline’s] lyrics. It was so inspiring to see how much you can fit into a song in, like, two minutes. Our new record is full of mostly three-minute or less songs. I really enjoy tightening up our songs' run times and hopefully keeping them interesting and never too bulky.
Pile, “Prom Song”
I used to tutor at the YMCA in Tennessee and listen to this record on the commute. Then I’d come home and work on demos. “Fell” is a song heavily inspired by Pile and their dynamics. Getting heavy and then quiet and clean. We don’t ever get heavy, but “Fell” gets the closest!
Alex G, “Poison Root”
I love every Alex G record and probably every Alex G song. Rocket came out when I was in full writing mode. I love how exciting, wacky, surprising, and wildly creative all of his records are, especially Rocket. It made me feel safe in having a super energetic song and a darker, moodier song right next to each other.
Lazy Trail, “Drips”
We wrote and recorded Emma’s [Willer, longtime Boyscott member] new record for her project Lazy Trail and Spellbound simultaneously. We were both experimenting with dynamic structures and adding weird outros and intros into our songs. It was super inspiring to hear how her songs transformed over the years and definitely helped make the songs on Spellbound more interesting.
Slumbers, “Battle”
Emma’s old project Slumbers was also a huge influence just from being in their orbit when we recorded that album. I learned how to think outside the ol’ box and attempt to sit with ideas and not just settle on “first thought best thought” mentality—I helped write and record the drum parts from scratch and it was a great experience to just try out all sorts of ideas before settling.
Drench Fries, “Desert Song”
Levi, a former touring member of the band, is such a wonderful songwriter. We met on the road in early 2019, and I’ve been a huge fan ever since. I love how he mixes his songs and also just records in his bedroom. The Drench Fries EPs inspired me to add the little fun things on top of songs that add that extra element of an atmosphere that takes you out of your bedroom or train or car and fully into the song.
Bunny Boy, “The Grey”
Davey [Alaimo]’s been playing bass for us for a while, and we’re all huge Bunny Boy fans now. If you see him play a solo set, you’ll get hooked. He’s an artist that’s so dang good at world-building and creating characters and making a song feel almost like a film—very visual. Anytime we used an acoustic guitar on the record, I had to quickly think, “Hmm what would Davey do?”
Quaker Parents, “Next Door Boy Conceals Desires, Helps Her Search for Missing Pet”
Quaker Parents taught me that you can keep people on their toes for the entire duration of a song. I’d love to write songs as dynamic as Mark [Grundy] does someday. Spellbound is our first try! We tried to trim as much fat as possible and keep the songs exciting and ever-changing. Seeing them live in 2017, during our earliest tours, introduced us to a whole new world. Canadian bands are the best, and Quaker Parents and their other project, Heaven for Real, are our all-time favorite!
Another Michael, “Angel”
We toured with Another Michael in 2021 and got to hear unreleased songs from their new record live each night. Michael and Nick’s arrangements are so fun and interesting and it got the whole band inspired. We ended up having their drummer Noah [Dardaris] play drums on our album—he’s now in our band. I remember thinking, “All I ever wanted was to have our snares sound how AM records them, and to play with a drummer as tasteful as Noah.” Dreams do come true!
Arthur Russell, “Habit of You”
I love Arthur Russell, and was hooked on this song for like a month when recording. I'd play it very loud when I’d get to our makeshift studio in this black box theater in Memphis every morning while I set up. His lyrics are so fun and real. What a beautiful record.
Dave Grusin, “Map and Willie”
I love the movie The Goonies. We sort of by accident used a little melody from the soundtrack in our song “After Dark,” but played at a way slower speed. I usually would watch this movie to fall asleep when writing this record.
