Magic Shoppe is a modern psychedelic rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that I can find very little information about. The band’s bio on the last.fm website contains more information than I could see at a glance on their Bandcamp or Facebook pages. The band seems to be a band that takes inspiration from some super groovy groups, including Black Rebel Motorcycle Club, The Warlocks (the more modern group, not the earliest version of Velvet Underground or Grateful Dead), Brian Jonestown Massacre, and Spacemen 3. The combination of these influences alone is getting me excited to check out the band. With that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Trystan Everglades” starts out with a some drones that have a dark hypnotic air that they bring to the soundscape. Oh wow, the drums and some more droning instrumentation has entered the soundscape, and has created a super groovy, reverberated, semi-shoegazing psychedelic movement that reminds me a bit of The Black Angels meets Spacemen 3. Holy smokes, the symphony of reverberation and distortion seems to become more harmonious as the music continues, creating a nearly tangible beauty in the chaos of the soundscape. I’m hooked already. Oh wow, this is super groovy. So far this track is an instrumental, and it’s one that has me eager to hear more. Wow, awesome track and I’m excited to hear more.
“Gate to Hell” begins in a similar droning fashion with the reverberated guitar that sounds as though you’re hearing the musical version of ripples from dropping stone after stone into what was a calm pond just a moment ago. The drums remind me a ton of The Black Angels in this one. Oh wow, the vocals have come into the soundscape, and bring a certain dark intonation with them that has a totally different sound from Nine Inch Nails, but seem to carry the dark nature that I associate with them. Oh wow, the tune seems to nearly mellow near the end as the darkness seems to brighten up, and then suddenly the soundscape intensifies with a heaviness that feels like a darker, shoegazing version of “Helter Skelter” by The Beatles. Wow, great track.
“On High Street” starts with a super strong drum, and quickly gets into a musical whirl of sorts that feels like a sort of shoegaze-inflected version of Mythic Sunship. Holy smokes, the vocals come into the soundscape and seemingly provide the tune a center amidst the chaos. Oh wow, this track is super groovy. I’m sort of reminded a bit of the New Candys album I listened to yesterday combined with the Kingdom of the Holy Sun album I listened to last month. Great track.
Holy smokes, “Death In the Courtyard” starts out with a super flavorful acoustic guitar that seems to bring a sort of acoustic psychedelic blues feel to the song (and album), which is amplified as the waves of reverberation make enter and traverse the soundscape. Oh wow, there’s a guitar line that seems to be standing on a distorted reverberation platform of sorts with a spotlight shining on it that brings some super groovy psychedelic flavors to the track. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Mystreated” starts out with a really flavorful distortion that reminds me of a sort of polished version of the distortion of the introduction to “Breed” by Nirvana. Holy smokes, I’m really digging this track so far. The different effects used on the guitars and other instrumentation on this one almost have a sound that feels like Spacemen 3 covered a song by Fifty Foot Hose. Oh wow, the licks from the guitar at the end of this track are super far out and groovy. Great track.
Holy smokes, “In Between” starts out with a really interesting conglomeration of droning and reverberation that has me somehow listening even closer. Oh wow, the combination of the kick drum and tambourine in the percussion of the track remind me a lot of Brian Jonestown Massacre. Wow, the tune almost seems to be mellowing a bit, but doing so in a way that sounds like the band is building up to a crescendo for the finish. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Candy Flip” is immediately mesmerizing with the reverberation in the guitar work combined with what sounds to be a super reverberated and distant church organ, bringing a sound of innocence to the soundscape that I’m really digging. Holy smokes, the band seems to break through to a massive psychedelic groove. The bass line has an almost rubbery fuzz to it that seems to make the song feel even more dynamic than it already does. Oh wow, the soundscape suddenly fills with some dissonant effects backed by the distant organ, before breaking back through with some extremely crunchy distortion. Oh wow, this track seems to come back again and again in waves before fading out at the end. Great track.
Oh wow, “Beginnings” starts with a super slow, gradually rolling drone with different sound effects and cymbals, as though you’re listening to a whale song mixed with the sound of waves crashing on the beach at one tenth of the normal speed. More layers seem to gradually work their way into the soundscape, until finally an acoustic guitar enters the song and seems to begin steering these whale-song-waves with the help of the bass guitar. Wow, great track and a great way to end the album.
Holy smokes, this album is awesome. If you’re into psychedelic rock and especially if you’re into shoegazing, you might want to consider checking out this album. I could definitely hear a mixture of elements from Brian Jonestown Massacre and Spacemen 3, but there were some things that reminded me of The Black Angels at a few points in the album as well. The decades that I tend to gravitate towards for my listening experiences are in the 1960s and 1970s, but I have to say that I’ve heard a lot of great music made in the most recent decade that continue to make me excited for the future of the industry. This album is one that I’m looking into getting on vinyl, but I’m not sure that any copies were even pressed at the moment. Regardless, I’m going to follow Magic Shoppe on Bandcamp. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A