Magic Man

Boston’s synth tripping collective Magic Man recently shipped over their indie-embraced electro buzzing anthem “Paris” in an attempt to raise their profile as they begin to cross-over with a presence here in the UK.

Afterall, the now internationally acclaimed single “Paris” was the one that initially opened doors for the band stateside and proved itself to be the catalyst in gaining attention via renowned boutique record label Neon Gold in the first instance, followed by a move to Columbia Records in the US whilst now supported by RCA here in the UK.

The powers that be in the industry have since come to the decision to go with a larger impact on these shores, in a move which sees Magic Man’s debut album “Before The Waves” release date brought forward to March 16th shadowing the “Paris” single released a couple of weeks prior.

As a debut effort goes “Before The Waves” positively echoes with youthful energy and a noticeable cyclonically trippy psychedelic touch, influenced uppermost by the bands travels around Europe. In my view I’d prefer to imagine the band wending their way from country to country and through countryside styling it new-age in a camper van, inspired into writing these songs. Although I gather in truth the arrangement was not as romantic, more as backpackers exchanging their labour for board. What remains of this experience though, is the organically carefree aura that emits from every chord as “Before The Waves” plays out.

Whilst, Magic Man turned to the assistance of Passion Pit producer Alex Aldi to realise and define these tracks it should come as no surprise to learn that similarly hazy strains of Passion Pit-esque indietronica steeped melodies appear throughout. This goes some way to achieve the wistfully created dreamy soundscapes which are applied to encapsulate a moment in time when everything was happy-go-lucky, full of possibilities and abandon.

A sound not only associated to Passion Pit, but by and large also exhibiting a striking resemblance to MGMT’s more electronic period of work, to that of acclaimed Glaswegian synth-pop acts Chvrches and Prides also.

Objectively we cannot comment that “Before The Waves” falls short of expectations, when it is the unusual case that we have no expectations of Magic Man to be assumptive of yet. What can instead be said of this album, is that it provides a fluid flow, embodied of living out fantasies, established through euphorically soaring synths and affirmingly earnest vocals.

Just the kind of up and at em’ album to reach for as daylight time increases and springtime begins to awaken us from our wintry inclement state.