Spelling Hands typically emerges from a cloud of faux fog, illuminated by dark-red lighting as the Vegas duo hits the stage. Musically, the act conjures up a somber energy amplified by throbbing industrial beats, heavy synth peaks and fluctuating vocals spewing personal takes on the harsh realities of life.
As beatmaker Bryan Bermudez puts it, “It’s as if Danzig picked up a synthesizer and drum machine instead of a guitar. There’s a little bit of hardcore, a little bit of electronic and a whole lot of witchy stuff going on.”
Nineties house music greatly inspired the band’s sound. Growing up, Bermudez and vocalist Michael Angelo were exposed to hard techno, a staple among their Mexican American friends and family members.
“I shared a bedroom with my older brother, and his wall was covered in rave posters,” Angelo says. “Sometimes his friends would come over in their Depeche Mode and Cure shirts. They were these Mexican kids who threw raves.”
Angelo also immersed himself in the music scene during the height of the Huntridge Theater and Sanctuary era. Bermudez credits Angelo for introducing him to underground music and has delved in ever since, down a never-ending rabbit hole of new sounds. The two founded their first punk cover band, The Revenants, at age 13 and have been involved in other projects together and separately for more than 20 years.
Their latest, Spelling Hands, emerged from the COVID-19 lockdown. “I used to fantasize about something stopping time, and quarantine gave me the chance to be locked in my room and be creative,” Bermudez says.
He had a vision for his beats, which he says only his longtime friend could fulfill vocally. Angelo obliged, and on a whim the pair tracked vocals inside a makeshift mic booth inside Bermudez’s apartment bathroom. “We heard that first song and thought, yeah, this is a band,” Angelo recalls.
The band’s name has multiple meanings: sorcerers using their hands to cast spells, communication using symbols and even nods to the gang culture they grew up around.
They consider their early songs to be a time capsule. There’s a harrowing aggressiveness and anger woven into the tracks, composed during a confusing time we all lived through. So far, Spelling Hands has refrained from releasing a full album, preferring the more digestible EP format in an era when attention spans are short.
After dropping their first EP, Practice Secret Forms of Culture, in 2021, the duo took time to record and develop its sound before jumping into gigs. When Spelling Hands began playing out, the progression continued. And with years of connections within the music scene, they’ve been recognized locally and in LA, too.
Bermudez and Angelo are especially proud of Spelling Hands’ diverse show history, which already includes hardcore gigs by local collective Blackpath Booking, goth nights in LA and various punk shows. “Electronic music usually gets put in a box,” Angelo says. “Luckily for us, Vegas hasn’t put us in a category.”
SPELLING HANDS linktr.ee/spellinghands
Next show: Opening for Hoaxed, with The Guilty Party, August 30 at the Usual Place.
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