Although Roxy Swain has just a little over a year under its belt, their roots run much deeper within the vibrant Chicago music community. Songwriter/guitarist Tom Valenzano has almost 20 years of experience in various roles, most notably as a sideman with Ellen Rosner in the early 00s, and more recently as a frontman for power pop trio Loomis. Songwriter/guitarist Matt Walters has cut his teeth in a laundry list of critically-acclaimed bands throughout this decade, including tickling the keys for the Red Plastic Buddha, manning lead guitar for Trakan and fronting the Three Fifths. The two guitarists joined forces in June 2008 with songwriter/vocalist Rachel "Roxy" Swain, and the three formative members quickly decided on a common goal - to build on the common songwriting strengths of Walters' and Valenzano's most recent power-pop and retro-rock groups by placing an additional emphasis on the lead vocal strengths of the up-and-coming frontwoman Swain. Alex Karan (drums, vocals) and Melissa Kempfer (bass, vocals) were quickly drafted from Valenzano's Loomis outfit, and the band was born. The quintet played a handful of initial shows as test balloon for their brand new set of 9 songs, and afterwards immediately booked time at Mike Hagler's acclaimed Kingsize Sound Labs. "The Spell of Youth" represents the total spectrum of their influences, from short bursts of the streamlined power pop of GbV (Second to None) to the harder rocking tendencies of AC/DC and KISS (Chrome VIxen) to a softer side reminiscent of Big Star (Z Dimension). The band includes the double A side of Without Without and Linda from last year's four song preview of New Love Designers, and new song Dressed to Kill offers another slice of GbV by way of the Cars. The band also branches out into contemporary indie terrain (Famous) and explores longer, more experimental songscapes with Valenzanos two vocal pieces, Son or Daughter and Coming Back. Throughout, Roxy Swain the frontwoman establishes herself as a dynamic centerpiece of an emerging group, whereas Valenzano and Walters prove themselvs ample, complementary power pop counterparts. The rhythm section of Karan and Kempfer round out an impressive sonic performance, capable of blowing the doors off the joint or taking things down to a whisper. The touring group, now augmented by acclaimed new drummer Chuck Harling (Ellen Rosner, Jeffrey Altergott), embarks on a 2010 summer tour this May, and excited to bring the Spell of Youth to every city around the country.