Wednesday, April 28, 2010

It's The Magic Bullets


Someone has clearly forgotten to tell Magic Bullets that we're in the 21st century, because their self-titled album, is clearly the best thing to come out of 1987 that I've ever heard. Sounding something like Monochrome Set, Orange Juice, Wedding Present, and pretty much anything residing around the jangly warehouses of British pop bands of that era, Magic Bullets are a lost treasure from another time that's just been uncovered by pop archaeologists. Listening to Magic Bullets is like unearthing a time capsule and finding the entire Cherry Red catalog in it; quaint, unusual, and amazing all at the same time.

Embracing arty pop, soulful vocals, and more jangle than legally allowed in 2010, Magic Bullets are an awesome sight to behold and listen to. This is a band that clearly has no idea that Baggy, Britpop, Post Post Punk, Electro, Indie Rock or anything else even exists and the songs they write sound as though they're covered in Doc Martens, Gladioli, and button down cardigans. Magic Bullets is a classic without being a day over a year old, a lost treasure without ever being lost, a rare gem in a sea of diamonds.. This is a truly exceptional stuff that has just about left me speechless. I LOVE this album because it sounds so pure, so simple and so, so good. This is just indie the way indie was always meant to be and it's fantastic.

Lovelorn, heartbroken, and lost Magic Bullets sound frustrated and confused about love and life and the time and it makes for some darn fine songs as a result. With titles that sound like they're from the David Gedge Anthology of Jangly POP Anthems the songs are daft and adorable at the same time. With titles like, "They Wrote A Song About You," "A Name Sits Heaviest On My Heart," and "Sigh The Day Away," you can see what I mean and how you can't help but create a mental picture of this group and the troubles they're going through. This is teenage angst run through a Morrissey dictionary and played with enough weeping sincerity that you want to give the band a hug and buy them a beer.

Magic Bullets is amazing. I'm sitting here speechless at how this band has tapped into something that was popular twenty three years ago and nailed it and the fact that they're American makes it even more shocking. This is the kind of eighties revival I want to hear more of and the kind I wish would capture the imagination of music fans everywhere. Magic Bullets are a stupendous band and their self-titled album is just about the best thing I've heard this year. Wow...this is heck of a band and one heck of an album that really has me wondering if time travel isn't possible.

Download: Lying Around

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I like this song but I don't get the 'back in the day' references, this song could easily go on a current hits radio station's playlist.