”[Wild Spells] creates its own genre of music by pulling on the intimacy of folk and heightening it with the thrumming passion of the instruments. The four band members … are experts in creating songs that evoke feelings that cannot be put into words.”
— The Boise Weekly
Photo by Katherine McBeth
About Wild Spells
Formed in 2015, Wild Spells is a collision between the heaviness of doom metal and the intricacy of folk, with soft vocals and shimmering keys contrasting heavy guitar and bass. Their sound integrates dense harmonies and droning instruments to create a layered, heavy, complex sound.
Wild Spells is influenced by doom metal, pop, folk, and post rock. Their music discusses a variety of topics, spanning femininity, identity, politics, religion, intimacy, trauma, heartbreak, and much more. They have played Treefort Music Fest for four consecutive years and have been featured in the Boise Weekly.
Wild Spells is:
Erin Nelson (they/them) - Keyboard, Vocals
Eric Larson (he/him) - Guitar, Baritone Guitar, Vocals
Zack M. Evans (they/them) - Bass Guitar, Bass VI
Kory Parsley (he/him) - Drums, Electronic Drums, Percussion
About “Honeymoon,” off of their debut album, This Is the Way We Fend for Ourselves
Honeymoon was written by lead singer of Wild Spells, Erin Nelson, in July of 2016, one month before their grandfather Ramon Nelson's death of dementia at age 94.
"My grandparents had been married for over 50 years when I wrote 'Honeymoon'," says Nelson. "Over the summer as my grandfather declined, he caught pneumonia and was admitted to a rehabilitation center..
"My grandmother would visit him every day, arriving before he woke up. One morning, she was running late because my grandfather was the one who paid the water bill each month. With him gone in the rehab center, it was just something that slipped her mind, so she was on the phone with the water company all morning trying to get it paid. I got this urgent call from the center saying my grandfather was crying — he woke up confused. He didn't know where he was. He didn't know who the nurses were, and most of all, he didn't know where his wife was.
"My grandfather's short-term memory was completely eroded, but after 94 years, his brain still clung to the memories of his family. I left work and rushed down. A nurse was comforting him, telling him his wife was on the way and his granddaughter would be there soon.
"I sat with my grandfather and held his hand for about an hour, trying to calm him down. In that last month he was frail and shaking. Always cold. I held his glassy hand and we waited together.
"At noon, my grandmother walked in and his presence completely changed. The tears stopped. He was immediately calm. He had no idea where he was or what we was doing in this strange place, but the one thing he knew is that she was supposed to be there, and if she was there, everything was okay.
I guess I couldn't not write the song witnessing a moment like that."
Honeymoon is a re-imagining of what would have happened if Ramon and Sally Nelson never got to experience the 50 years of marriage they had together. The song tells the story of Ramon and Sally on their honeymoon at the age of 21, traveling to Italy. Their plane crashes, and they embrace the brief time of happiness they had together as they prepare to hit the ground.