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Review: 'Magnapop'
'The Circle Is Round'   

-  Label: 'Happy Happy Birthday To Me Records'
-  Genre: 'Indie' -  Release Date: '27.9.19.'-  Catalogue No: 'HHBTM199'

Our Rating:
Magnapop are back with the bands first album in 10 years even if they haven't stopped touring during that time often in the Benelux countries that have taken these Americans to their hearts and it's easy to understand why as they have gone back to the bands roots and recorded once again with Ed Burdell in Marietta Georgia.

The album opens with Dog On the Door that fairly bursts out of the speakers at you with nagging insistence it has a good story at it's heart while being good and bouncy fun indie pop.

Change your Hair was apparently one of the first songs the band wrote together back when they were still thinking about becoming a band and have finally recorded and well what a great song even if this reviewer has had the same hairstyle for about 25 years. But this is full of good advice with buzzing guitars and cool backing vocals centered about a killer guitar hook.

A Simple Plan is a Lush like indie pop love song that's totally effective and needs to be heard a good few times.
Supersize me turns things up and blasts at you with cool guitars and insistent drumming as well as great vocals and backing Vocals that come in and out and always from the other speaker to the main vocals to make sure we are safe on the other side.

Need to Change is reminiscent of Hepburn a great indie pop tune asking for change if this friendship is going to continue in any meaningful way.

What Can I Do closes Side One of the red vinyl I'm listening on that flies by in a whirl of guitars and a plea or two for someone to rescue them before everything falls apart.

Side Two opens with Rain Rain a gently rain spattered song of yearning and wanting for the rain to come and make things fresh again.

Disabled is about wanting to disable conversations and trying to move on its dialed back and very effective. Rip The Wreck is full pelt indie rock with just enough edge to make sure you never stop listening closely to what's going on.

The album then has two demos recorded back in 1992 that have never been released that will make long term fans wonder at how they never got released before now. The first of them Leo is very urgent and has a sort of Bikini Kill meets L7 and somehow goes power pop edge to it with a brilliant bass line to keep you riveted.

The second of the demos Pretty Awful is nothing of the kind but is a great dose of clattering indie to mosh too and to make sure no one accuses you of being an anorak too. As bouncy as it is it still has some good issues at it's heart and along with Leo would have made a great 7" single.

Find out more about this great album at www.magnapop.com or www.hhbtm.com

  author: simonovitch

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