…love ain’t enough, MAGIC WANDS – Angel Dust

Magic Wands – Illuminate LP is available at Bandcamp, Spotify, Apple Music.

by Walter Price

Who doesn’t love themselves some dreamy post-punk? Rhetorical of course, but just the same, LA duo Magic Wands [Dexy and Chris Valentine] have a fresh new track “Angel Dust” that’ll transport fans of Echo & the Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, and The Jesus And Mary Chain back in time. To an era when beautifully murky dreamscapes were experienced via underground Brit-pop. The song comes from the band’s stunning new 10-track LP ‘Illuminate’.

An album the outfit’s Chris V., explains, “Illuminate is Magic Wands expanding on what we did on our other albums, and I think it’s the best record we’ve made yet. We were still faithful to our original idea of all things “magic, love, and dreams” and I think we captured that more than ever on this album. Dexy and I both avoid “reality” in “reality” as much as possible and we especially do so in our music, and I think this record is a great example of that—whether it’s the “non-studio” “studio sound” that we get or the imaginative lyrics which can border on the surreal,”

And the surreal realities are addictive with this LP and it’s calling card single. It really is a timeless ode to a genre that’s starting to see its revival in earnest. And with bands like Magic Wands continuing to leading the way, the future is looking pretty awesome.

MAGIC WANDS

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“Everything is purposefully hazy and distorted but equally blissful with the sounds. We like the dreamlike quality we have captured, but the songs aren’t background music, they have their definite structures and beats. We also purposefully keep our arrangements very simple, and musically most of the songs only have three or four chords. Overall it’s really an unconventional pop record. If we’re inspired by anything it’s all the magical things from the 80s and 90s song structures that we like, combined with our futuristic utopian dreamscape we always aim for. It’s like a daydream when you’re still aware of what’s going on around you, but still lost in the reality of your own imagination..” – Magic Wands

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Hold on a minute, don’t forget to check out the “Angel Dust” film, directed by Brayden Curtis and starring the lovely Gracie Rose Chapman…