Magnet School
The Art of Telling the Truth
(Shifting Sounds)
It was way back in 2013 that I was
introduced to the smashing two song single “Fur & Velvet” from Austin, TX four-piece
Magnet School (#26 from 2013’s best
of here). Thankfully, the band continued their diligent
work and did not disappear on us, because The
Art of Telling the Truth is an outstanding collection! In my review of “Fur & Velvet” and the menacing
crawl of the dangerous sounding instrumental “swandive,” (both included on the
LP) I referenced the heavy twin guitar attack of the Swervedriver, which I still stand by, however, the production and
the soft blending of the exploratory guitars of Michael J. Wane and Mark
Ford remind of Ferment-era Catherine Wheel, which is about as high
of praise as I can offer. Yet it’s the
cranking rhythm section of Brandon
Tucker and Erik Conn that ground
the intertwining guitar melodies and layers of controlled feedback.
This is not necessarily what one
would normally expect from a Texas band, but these days with the great shoegaze
focus of Fort Worth record label Saint
Marie, and bands like Austin’s
all over the map Ringo Deathstarr, to
the promising postpunk of the debut EP from Dallas’ The Hourly Radio (going back like ten plus years ago), I guess one
never should pre-judge.
I love that there are three
instrumentals among these ten songs, because Magnet School’s strengths lie in
their ability to paint a vivid and exciting picture with their music alone, yet
songs like “Fur & Velvet,” the opening “We Were Golden” and the rainy
melancholy of “British Monuments” are all sing-along catchy. Meanwhile, the soaring “Irresistible Lie” and
“So Long to the Heavens” (both of which bring to mind Camden’s debut Reel Time
Canvas from the turn of the century) find the vocals down in the mix, not
rising above the fantastic arrangements.
The penultimate song, “Red Giant,” is a down tempo number that has
explosive turns, all while seemingly overstating the importance of a fierce
breakdancing throw-down (not really sure what’s going on, but it’s still one of
my favorites here).
If you enjoy dreamy guitar rock –
with an emphasis on the “rock,” then this album should be most pleasing to your
ears. It is available in three different
colors of vinyl as well, so pick up a copy while supplies last and be sure to
play it loud!
Magnet School "British Monuments"
Sounds awesome, I'll check them out
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