Magic Man Archives - Various Small Flames

Brother – Call

Jon Doyle — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:43:00 +0000

I can’t find all that much information on Brother. They have a Facebook page (on which they suggest that they are being forced to change their name, so keep an eye on that) and they make beautiful music. Other than that, I can’t tell you much.

To describe the music I’ll have to resort to genre cliches. It’s certainly pop music. It’s also electronic. And experimental. And it’s definitely dreamy.The album consists of ten songs which pulse and shimmer with blissful synths and some very catchy choruses. Some are mellow and pretty (see the title track ‘Call’ and album closer ‘Sickle’), while others are a lot more dynamic and energetic, with frantic drumming (for example ‘Island’). Another thing which I noticed while listening is the quality of the production on show, I’m not sure whether the band are signed or not (due to their mysterious online presence), but everything really is flawless.

I have seen several comparisons with Radiohead (presumably because the vocals are evocative of a certain Thom Yorke), but the band that I kept thinking about whilst listening was Magic Man (who I coincidentally wrote about yesterday), particularly on tracks such as ‘Comma’ and ‘Boon’ (admittedly that could be due to the fact I’d been listening to Real Life Colour all morning after writing about their new track).

You can buy the album for $10 (£6.65) over at Bandcamp and I would highly suggest you do so.

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Magic Man – Paris

Jon Doyle — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 11:33:54 +0000

We are long-time fans of Rhode Island’s Magic Man here at Wake The Deaf, having previously covered their brilliant debut album Real Life Color, featured their songs on our mixtapes, and included other projects from band members on our end of year list. It’s been a little while since we’ve heard anything from the band, but now they have returned with a brand new track – Paris. The band has also expanded during the hiatus, growing from the duo of school friends that created Real Life Colour, to a full-on synth rock five-piece. The results of this expansion are clearly apparent on Paris, a track that seems to suggest that Magic Man have decided to follow the path towards more energetic and euphoric pop music. Yes some of the warm and fuzzy intimate charm of the debut may be lost, but there are strengths here, from the tinkling piano intro to the groovy synths and the catchy chorus. I think that there’s real potential here for Magic Man to explode, and for Paris to become one of the summer’s biggest hits.

Listen to the song in the player and download it for free via Soundcloud or Bandcamp. The track also has an official video which you can see on the band’s Youtube channel.

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The Covers Mix: Volume #2

Jon Doyle — Sat, 14 Jul 2012 14:55:00 +0000

The second instalment of our covers series. Some rather unlikely bedfellows I’m sure you’ll agree.

Tracklisting:

1. From Stardust To Sentience (High Places cover) – Banjo or Freakout
2. So Prone (SLUTEVER cover) – Ghost/Light
3. I Will Always Love You (Dolly Parton cover) – Howth
4. Salvador Sanchez (Sun Kil Moon cover) – Little Silver
5. Brother (Annuals cover) – Manchester Orchestra
6. Darling (Magic Man cover) – And the Giraffe
7. When You Were Mine (Prince cover) – John Heart Jackie
8. I Wanna Be Adored (Stone Roses cover) – Coma Cinema
9. Crying (Roy Orbison cover) – Austra
10. Streets of Philadelphia (Bruce Springsteen cover) Casiotone For The Painfully Alone
11. Iron Man (Black Sabbath cover) – Four Tet
12. The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonight (R.E.M. cover) – Oxford Collapse
13. My Proud Mountains (Townes van Zandt cover) – J. Tillman
14. Chelsea Hotel #2 (Leonard Cohen cover) – Sarah Jaffe
15. If I Handle You With Care (Trembling Blue Stars cover) – Evening Hymns
16. Left & Leaving (The Weakerthans cover) – Beat Radio
17. I Know What I Know (Paul Simon cover) – Graham Wright
18. Some Things Last A Long Time (Daniel Johnston cover) – The Twilight Sad
19. Unicorn (Gay Against You cover) – Dananananaykroyd
20. See U Again (Miley Cyrus cover) – The Mae Shi

Click on the band name in the tracklisting to be whizzed off to a specific page for each artist. Buy some music if you like what you hear. I didn’t bother with Dolly Parton, Springsteen etc. but if you need some pointers on where to find out more about them give us a shout.

Enjoy.

The Covers Mix: Volume #2 from Wake The Deaf on 8tracks Radio.

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