Spring Break
The Daily OrangeReview: Here We Go Again, Self-Titled
By Paola Capó-García
Posted: 2/17/09, 2:15 AM EST Section: Decibel
Here We Go Magic's self-titled debut drones out in the most unimpressive of ways. From one mediocre track to the other, it fails to capture even the semblance of an interesting concept. Once you're done with this nine-track bore, you'll kick yourself for wasting 38 minutes of your life.
There is a lack of direction that blankets the whole effort. Recorded in a mere two months, "Here We Go Magic" would have benefited from more time and even more lyrics - the majority of the album is a wordless cacophony.
Lead singer Luke Temple's usual folk sound rings clear in the first and last tracks, "Only Pieces" and "Everything's Big." But everything in between is marred by bland ambient attempts, like seventh track "I want to see you underwater," which digitally tunes in like a sub-par Animal Collective doppelganger.
The band apparently felt no need to sing fo r four tracks in a row, with lackluster instrumental tracks that seem to beg you to skip them.
Listening to "Ghost List" is like listening to TV static for four minutes and 21 seconds. The grammatically challenged "Babyohbabyijustcantstanditanymore" sounds like the chimes of forks and spoons, but in the end there's nothing to bite into.
All of these are free of Temple's earnest voice, the one thing that could have saved this hackneyed collection.
It's questionable why Temple decided to do such a dishonest album. During his solo career, Temple laced his lyrics with imagery and depth. Now with Here We Go Magic, he's limited by his penchant for synth, which fails to lend the magic he alludes to.
He's at his best - or really, he's at his non-crappiest - in the last track, "Everything's Big," wailing, almost with tears in his throat, "We stuck around, 'cause nobody wanted to die." Aerial "ohs" and "ahs" paint the backdrop, along with charged cymbals, the delicate interweaving of banjos and guitars, and teetering piano keys. The song feels realized. Too bad it came too late.
Temple should ditch the new moniker and stick to being a lesser-known Sufjan Stevens. With a sound so uninspired, Here We Go Magic should perform a magic trick that's actually worthwhile: a disappearing act.
picapo@syr.edu
There is a lack of direction that blankets the whole effort. Recorded in a mere two months, "Here We Go Magic" would have benefited from more time and even more lyrics - the majority of the album is a wordless cacophony.
Lead singer Luke Temple's usual folk sound rings clear in the first and last tracks, "Only Pieces" and "Everything's Big." But everything in between is marred by bland ambient attempts, like seventh track "I want to see you underwater," which digitally tunes in like a sub-par Animal Collective doppelganger.
The band apparently felt no need to sing fo r four tracks in a row, with lackluster instrumental tracks that seem to beg you to skip them.
Listening to "Ghost List" is like listening to TV static for four minutes and 21 seconds. The grammatically challenged "Babyohbabyijustcantstanditanymore" sounds like the chimes of forks and spoons, but in the end there's nothing to bite into.
All of these are free of Temple's earnest voice, the one thing that could have saved this hackneyed collection.
It's questionable why Temple decided to do such a dishonest album. During his solo career, Temple laced his lyrics with imagery and depth. Now with Here We Go Magic, he's limited by his penchant for synth, which fails to lend the magic he alludes to.
He's at his best - or really, he's at his non-crappiest - in the last track, "Everything's Big," wailing, almost with tears in his throat, "We stuck around, 'cause nobody wanted to die." Aerial "ohs" and "ahs" paint the backdrop, along with charged cymbals, the delicate interweaving of banjos and guitars, and teetering piano keys. The song feels realized. Too bad it came too late.
Temple should ditch the new moniker and stick to being a lesser-known Sufjan Stevens. With a sound so uninspired, Here We Go Magic should perform a magic trick that's actually worthwhile: a disappearing act.
picapo@syr.edu
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