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Magnus:
Sleepwalker
The music critic, by necessity and by inclination, always attempts to put music within the framework of other bands. The theory is that by giving enough comparisons, preferably comparisons that are odd or that dont necessarily go together, the elements of the bands that are used as comparisons can give some kind of composite for the band that is being reviewed. Here is an example: Mussolini Raygun (a made up band name) sounds like a cross between The Jesus and Mary Chain, Peter, Paul and Mary, and Bob Marley. Another way this can be achieved is by creating strange neologisms. An example of neologistic description of Mussolini Raygun (again, not a real band) would be white-noised drenched, folk-reggae. This is important to mention, because of the record in question in this review, Magnuss new record Sleepwalker. I listened to this record for weeks trying to come up with some such pithy neologism, but to no avail. Magnus really is a very unique sounding band. Although they dont radically change the face of rock music, they do a good job of taking old song forms and spicing them up with interesting instrumentation to create a novel and pleasant effect. Sometimes sounding like Brainiac, sometimes sounding like an early Radiohead, or even a harder sounding Broken Social Scene, Magnus is adept at using post-rock and electronic elements to deconstruct fairly average pop and rock songs. The stand-out track in this regard, and on the record in general, is Behind the Eyes. Taking a simple hook and a one phrase vocal line, Magnus adds layers and layers of different elements together to create an interesting and thoroughly enjoyable song. This ability to create something out of nothing is a useful skill; however, it is always better to use this skill to the effect of making something good better, rather than to turn something bad into something decent. In this way, Sleepwalker only points in the direction of where Magnus could go. With good musical intuitions and an expertise in craftsmanship, Magnus could create a masterwork. All that is needed is a songwriting ability that matches their craftsmanship. Not that the songs here are bad. Most are pretty good, and a few are excellent. If Magnus were able to focus more on their songs, they would have the makings of a truly great band.
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