Said The Whale – The Magician EP Review
It’s not a big secret that some of us here at AWMusic love Said The Whale. So you can imagine how enthused I was when they released their EP The Magician on 7” vinyl in July. It didn’t arrive on my doorstep until the end of August, but it was well worth the wait. The four track EP elevates from their debut album; Howe Sounds/Taking Abalonia, and it maintains the intricate characteristics of freedom and harmony that make their music so memorable.
The opening track ‘The Magician (Camilo)’ starts off the much like This City’s a Mess did. Great rhythm, that’s fast, free, and upbeat. The lyrics just beckon you to sing along with them with a chorus like “Camilo I need to see where you made that car go – cause I got some questions about the world I know and about the difference between real and show Camilo”. The following track ‘Love is Art / Through the Fire’ is a soft ballad of love that really takes flight at 1:46 mark. The vocal harmony compliments the message in the song beautifully.
Side B has its own fair share of surprises. The piano in Strong Swimmers takes a slight step to the background and sounds less prevalent as it did in earlier tracks. The space between the acoustic and electric guitars is seamless. They blended nicely. This leads to the final track and also my personal favourite, ‘Upset Her’. It could be that I can relate to the material personally, it could be that it’s a melancholic song wrapped up in a positive message, or it could be none of those things. The undeniable quality is an unexplainable one. It felt like magic and put a smile on my face.
The Magician EP continues the soft indie charm that Said The Whale has. It’s not over produced yet you can hear the quality and the love involved. This is far from a four track throwaway. Only one out of the four songs will be appearing on their new album releasing this October, Islands Disappear. The other three are limited to this release – so if you’re a fan there is no excuse why you cannot lend an ear. There really is nothing more I can say that has not been iterated already, get this album.
MP3:
Said The Whale – The Magician (Camilo)
Buy at:
More info:
pop-machine.ca / Myspace / Facebook / Flickr
Tags: EP
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