Stress Spells have always felt like a band built through persistence rather than momentum chasing. Formed in 2021 by Jack Carino and Jillian Keats, the project slowly took shape through months of trading riffs and sketching ideas before solidifying into its current four-vocal attack: Jack Carino and Adam Kaniper on guitar, Keats on bass, and Kevin Henson on drums.
Since then, the New Jersey band has carved out a reputation for chaotic, emotionally charged skramz, sharing stages with the likes of Dillinger Escape Plan, Saetia, Botfly, NØ MAN, and Nuvolascura, and making their mark with releases like the mmxxii demo and the House Fire track from last year’s four-way split.
Today, No Echo is premiering “The Sand That Smooths the Glass,” a new track that captures Stress Spells at their most reflective and unflinching. The song provides a sharp look at where Stress Spells are headed on Hearts Never Tire, due out in February. Raw, confrontational, and emotionally direct, the nine-song LP will be released by Albany, New York–based Fuzz Records, home to releases from Age of Apocalypse, PRIZE, and Reaper’s Gong:
Written by Keats during the uncertain stretch after COVID lockdowns but before live music fully returned, the song wrestles with isolation, creative burnout, and the quiet resentments that can fester within local scenes. "To me, writing music has always been about finding ways to express myself and letting those songs act as a beacon for anyone who might feel the same way," says Keats.
Using sand-worn sea glass as a central metaphor, Keats frames resistance as both that which grinds you down and that which reshapes you, while also calling out the gradual softening and commodification of outsider music. “It’s never been about traction, reach, or being consumable,” she explains.
“It’s about having something everyone can be a part of and be unabashedly themselves. 'Sand' is about the resistance I have felt in this attempt and the competition that can arise and breed resentment between creative individuals, bands in a regional scene, etc."
In addition to the new album, Stress Spells will also be going out on an East Coast tour, so if you're in the area, show some love!
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Hearts Never Tire will be out on February 6th via Fuzz Records (pre-order).
Stress Spells on social media: Instagram
Tour dates:
2/26 Philly PA @ Philly Style Pizza
2/27 Brooklyn NY @ Gold Sounds
2/28 Providence RI @ AS220
3/1 New Brunswick NJ @ Cinco de Mayo
3/22 Philadelphia PA @ The Latvian Society
3/24 Charlotte NC @ The Milestone
3/25 Atlanta GA @ South Bend Commons
3/26 Columbia SC @ The Spaze
3/27 Greensboro NC @ Back Table
3/28 Richmond VA @ Banditos
3/29 Baltimore MD @ The Undercroft
3/30 Montclair NJ @ Silverstream Studios
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