(Secretly Canadian/Inertia)

Pulling pigeons out of a hat

Initially a solo vehicle for New York songwriter Luke Temple, Here We Go Magic are now a five-piece band, meaning the difference between the delightfully murky self-titled record and this album is rather significant. The cover art of each record sums it up best. The self-titled cover is intricate but dark and muted. Pigeons is almost eye-searingly colourful. But hey, that’s what replacing a four-track with four band members does to you. The intimate oddities of the self-titled album are replaced here with the perks of having a full band, on full display in the bombastic Collector, a bright and propulsive rainbow of guitar, drums and synths. Luke Temple’s high intonations are reminiscent of Dan Snaith, the similarity especially pronounced on Caribou-esque opener Hibernation. Pigeons tones down after its ebullient start, evening out with some pleasant but overly mild ballads. It’s a rather slow stretch, but things pick up again with Moon. The energetic pop of Old World United and the detailed polyrhythms of Vegetable Or Native showcase more of Temple’s creativity. Closer Herbie I Love You, Now I Know bears a percussive pattern so similar to that of the previous album’s opener Only Pieces that it seems to be an intentional connection. Pigeons is a solid effort, but somewhat stripped of their four-track induced enigma, Temple’s slower and quieter moments are less appealing next to the more kinetic material. An unbalanced, though ultimately enjoyable record.

***˝

MICHAEL PINCOTT 

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