Piano Magic - Part-Monster

The third and latest album by the "conventional group" incarnation of Piano Magic is full of crisply-produced dream-pop, with more than a hint of 80's alternative (Cure / New Order) sound. Vocals are shared between the clear-toned Angele David-Guillou, who sings the soaring-chorused single "Incurable" and "Soldier Song", and Piano Magic mainstay Glen Johnson, whose whinier voice fronts some some genuinely good tunes including "Halfway Through" and "The Last Engineer". Simon Rivers also lends a deadpan tone to the Morrissey-style dirge "England's Always Better (As You're Pulling Away)", which pulls itself out of a damp puddle with an elegant brass arrangement. It's all arranged with admirable colour and precision - one particularly great moment is the driving twin-guitar instrumental "Great Escapes", which recalls another underappreciated band, The Church. Though the acoustic title song is a bit too much of a downer to finish on.

June 5, 2008

7 out of 10

See blog entry: Piano Magic (8 Jun, 2008)

previous | next