Cascades is the latest album by Magic Wands the duo who are currently based in Los Angeles having relocated from Nashville some time ago. They are Dexy and Chris Valentine. They have been together since 2012.
The album opens with the dark tones of Across The Water full of swirling guitars and ethereal vocals, this sounds darker than the Blue Cherry single I reviewed a few years ago. They are hoping to get things going, if only they can get Across The Water.
Armour is quite wispy and gauzy when you consider the protection they are seeking from the Armour they need to survive in the modern world.
Hide takes a classic Wake style goth dancefloor tune, covers it in spidery strands to ensnare the one you want to Hide with, this shimmers more drums coming more to the fore.
Albatross might get you in a Play Dead style mood, this is slow breeze tree branch movements, trying to find a new beginning, finding forgiveness and a path through a darkened forest.
Moonshadow sounds like the sort of tune you'd hear at Astral Flight or Full Tilt back in the day and wonder who they hell it was by, no one would ever know, making you search for eons to find it, well get up and dance to this dark evocative goth floor filler.
Time To Dream sit back zone out and dream away to the all-encompassing sounds, distorting memories of Arson Garden through an X-Mal prism. The title song Cascades is gentle high up in the mountains, slowly cascading guitars, water burbling and running ribbon like down the mountain, far distant miles away from the crashing waterfall to come, in the canyon below bassline hints towards another kind of Cascade.
Golden a new dream dawns in the reverb ripples caressing your mind, Golden visions they conjure up, appearing after midnight in the shadows of the trees, where love might shimmer towards you if you can avoid unlovable creatures in this realm.
Room With A View has a synth line that sounds like it comes from a film, is it that film, or just that place that you need to sit and gaze out into that view, the last Room With A View I was in, was our hotel room in Narvik, this tune would have sound great staring out at harbour and mountains, snowcapped and dramatic, watching freight trains and cars.
The album closes with Riverbed this is slowly dredged shimmers, enveloping sky at dawn and dusk, you wish to trawl that Riverbed looking for jetsam to enchant, drifting away on delicate piano lines, supple textures evolve.
Find out more at https://magic-wands.bandcamp.com/album/cascades https://www.facebook.com/themagicwands https://www.magicwandsband.com/
