Love Spells with Orca @ The Sinclair 9/24
Photos by Anna Gohman
Review by Marcus Ollier
Love Spells transformed The Sinclair into a place of worship on Thursday night, playing songs from his debut album “LOVE IS THE LAW” and taking us back in time through his earlier discography. Although he’s only 21 years old, he has the energy of someone who’s been performing onstage their whole life. His dance moves, interactions with the rest of the band, and conversations with the audience brought an intimacy to the venue that wouldn’t normally exist in a one-hour set.
After collaborating with Kevin Abstract on the Texas pop album “Blush” last summer, Houston native Love Spells released his own album complete with dreamy singles, nostalgic music videos and an international tour. His performance at The Sinclair was actually his first time in Boston, and he let the audience know how happy he was to be there.
Orca, another Texas band, opened for Love Spells. They set the tone for a dreamy night, with reverb-heavy guitar lines and vocals from Mylena Velasquez over easygoing drums played by Daniel Galloway. Galloway sang while playing drums on a few songs, and the duo’s voices blended in perfect harmony.
Love Spells opened with “Lovers Only,” a track from his 2025 EP “The Love I Showed You Was Yours To Keep.” The song highlighted every member of his touring band, with a punching drumbeat, rhythmic bass line, and fuzzy guitar. It set the stage for lots of dancing, both from the audience and Love Spells himself.
Getting to hear Love Spells speak after only listening to his music was a surprise. He sings in a high falsetto, emulating dream pop voices like Clairo and Cigarettes After Sex, but he talks at least an octave lower. Hearing him switch in and out of his singing voice during the concert was like hearing two different people on the microphone. In between songs, he talked to audience members who shouted compliments and asked for the lighting to be tweaked just right to set the perfect mood. The disco ball provided an ambience to the space that made it feel like we were dancing right along with the band. Oftentimes they were illuminated in a deep red, but during the heavier songs the band was lit with strobing rainbows.
The live arrangement of “Keep it to Yourself” took the song further than the studio recording, repeating the chorus over and over at the end. Love Spells went higher and higher with his voice, never promising a limit to his vocal range.
During “Don’t Touch,” Love Spells pulled out a harmonica. It pierced through the noise of all the other instruments, changing the vibe of the set completely. The fluidity of genre throughout the concert allowed the audience to feel a wide spectrum of emotion. There were moments of lush dream pop followed by Springsteen-esque guitar jams. No matter the style, people danced.
Many of the songs bled together with no breaks in between. There were occasional micro-jam sessions between songs where it felt like the band was improvising in real time.
Before “Kiss Me Slow This Time,” Love Spells grabbed a towel for his face. He swung it around like a pastor and joked that he was playing gospel music. During the song, a slower ballad, he asked the audience to get low to the ground, further cementing the church metaphor. Then he had us get up and clap our hands in the air. At one point, he had us repeating the words back to him. The concert felt like a religious experience at points, like we were put under a spell to move effortlessly with the music.
After Love Spells ended the set, the band hadn’t left the stage before the audience was begging them to come back. They returned for one last song, “Wish I Didn’t Love You.” The biggest lesson I took home from the concert: love is the law.
