Success as a musical artist is highly subjective. It can't necessarily be measured by Spotify streams or licensing deals or brandy glasses full of M&Ms or hot tubs full of Schedule II substances or record deals or sales figures. The definitions of these metrics themselves have changed a bit in recent years.
Perhaps it's up to the artist to decide when they've reached the next level, and for San Diego synth-pop duo Glass Spells, it was a spur-of-the-moment decision.
The band will open Huntington Beach's Darker Wave Festival in the fall of 2023, performing to tens of thousands of people and sharing the stage with some of the most legendary new wave and post-punk bands, including New Order, Echo and the Bunnymen, and Tears for Fears.
“[I] “It was like, 'Is this real life?'” says keyboardist Anthony Ramirez. “It was overwhelming. We walked out to the trailers with the other artists. [seeing] Compared to other musicians, I think, “Wow, I'm near These people.'”
It's been a long time since Glass Spells' ascent to this stage, competing with the kings of new wave and goth. Ramirez first launched the group in 2013 with an entirely different lineup and a slightly darker sound that leaned heavily towards the more pronounced gloom of post-punk groups like Joy Division. (The genre description the band used at the time was “disco goth,” which also became the name of the seasonal events they organized, which continue to this day.)
But when the members of that version of Glass Spells eventually parted ways, Ramirez saw a new opportunity for the band and asked her friend Tania Costello if she'd be interested in making music together. After an initial tryout at a DIY performance space in San Diego in early 2019, the pair hit the ground running, quickly building an audience that identified with their goth-inspired, synth-driven pop influenced by their favorite '80s artists.
“We share a common love of '80s music,” says the band's lead singer, Costello, “and that's definitely our biggest connection.” [Ramirez] “I come from a Siouxsie and the Banshees kind of background. More punk in a way. And I'm more like Cyndi Lauper and the Human League in the '80s.”
In 2021, Glass Spells released their debut album. Shatteredis a collection of extremely catchy, beat-driven pop songs that combines the immersive melancholy of The Cure with the pop immediacy of Orchestral Maneuvers in the Dark. For those born after 1981, it's like a little bit of M83 or Nation of Language. He followed it up with the 2023 single “Hechizos,” a bright, neon-smothered, danceable synth-pop anthem that features lyrics sung by Costello in Spanish. So far, he hasn't announced a new album to accompany it, but that doesn't mean he's not working on it. “It's in the works,” Costello says.
But they're busy. Despite their expanded audiences and stage space, the duo remains almost entirely DIY behind the scenes, handling most of their own business, including social media (though they do have a booking agent). Their Instagram feed, which had 131,000 followers at the time of publication, is filled with videos of the duo performing dreamy pop anthems at familiar San Diego venues like Chicano Park and Balboa Park, as well as in cities they've played on tour.
“It's been a learning experience,” Ramirez says of the DIY approach. “We didn't really think about the administrative work that comes with it. There's a lot of emailing and messaging and it can be a lot of work on top of trying to play shows.”
Fresh from an appearance at Pasadena festival Cruel World (same venue as Siouxsie Sioux), Glass Spells are about to embark on a headlining tour, bringing them to their hometown at the Observatory North Park. The bar for success seems ever-increasingly high, but they're still taking the time to enjoy where they are and savor the memories of the large crowd that turned out for their afternoon show at Darker Waves.
“We didn't expect that many people to come, because normally you'd think, 'Oh, let's wait until the sun goes down,'” Costello says, “but I looked out at the crowd and it just got bigger and bigger as we played. Some people were singing along, and there were quite a few fans in the front row wearing Glass Spells T-shirts. Just talking about this moment makes me so happy.”
Glass Spells will be performing at Observatory North Park on Saturday, July 20th.