Album of the Week: Here We Go Magic – Pigeons 

HWGM

 

So, ever seen faux-Canucks Of Montreal play live? You haven’t? 

Good. That means you can approach the zany weirdness of Here We Go Magic with a clean slate. 

The band – essentially NYC singer-songwriter Luke Temple with a recently expanded line-up – ooze bags of charming mania, which thankfully isn’t too overdone. 

Even the name of the band suggests a fair amount of off the rails-ness, but juxtapose that with naming your second album after the most mundane of feathered rats could leave you wondering exactly where this lot are coming from. 

Hibernation is a low key starting point, holding the same beat throughout a song that doesn’t really go anywhere. Collector is miles better and will instantly register with a fan of Of Montreal – zippy, awash with keyboards and effects. 

I realise that’s the second time I’ve mentioned Kevin Barnes’ flamboyant troupe but I think it’s justified. There are clear similarities here. I wouldn’t say that HWGM are ripping them off – their’s is a more studied form of frantic psychedelia – but they’re certainly kindred spirits. 

Initially it seems that the only thing surprising about fourth track Surprise is its complete lack of embellishment but halfway through, the chiming guitars and falsetto vocals are interrupted by waves of harmonies and the second chorus lobs in levels of proggy squalling that Wakeman would be proud of and it’s all rather wonderful.  

The record then hits a bit of a lull. Bottom Feeder is unfortunately named and Moon falls well short of its lunar aspirations. 

Thankfully the superb Old World United gets things back on track. It’s camp, jerky and utterly bonkers. FFAP tugs at the heartstrings a little and the sinister Land of Feeling boasts some stylish circling guitars.  

Temple is clearly outrageously talented. His peers, Barnes and Wayne Coyne took years to guide their psychedelic vehicles towards any level of musical notoriety. Here We Go Magic are already picking up a fair bit of critical acclaim and could be set to scale the heights – provided they don’t call their next album something ridiculous like ‘Seagulls’.