Magnetic MorningEssay Preview: Magnetic MorningReport this essayTheres nothing the least bit wrong with the constituent parts of Magnetic Morning. Sam Fogarino hails from Interpol, where his fierce, punchy drumming tends to sell songs every bit as much as the hooks do– and as the eldest of the bunch, hes probably also the most likely to know a lot about the 1990s shoegazer acts they occasionally borrow from. Then theres Adam Franklin, who actually is from a 90s shoegazer act: Swervedriver, whose albums added a touch of hard-rock bombast to a scene that was often a lot more comfortable, pillowy, and dreamy. The two were introduced in New York by a mutual friend, and set about making music together– deep, dark, spacious rock music– and
―: I love this band. They play a few of the most aggressive, heavy, and energetic shows I’ve ever listened to, but they’re probably the hottest, the best, and the coolest people in it. In fact I’ve come to expect them to be like a rock scene I’ll never be able to relate to, if that’s what “New York Times.” It certainly doesn’t bother me enough that I have to come back and re-rate them.
I am completely blown away! (Though this is probably a self-deprecating note because it could be a bad joke after the fact and/or just a cheap one, but I would rather not say it’s a bad joke than, say, that it’s not really so bad.)
I like what I get out of the song “The Magnetic Morning” more than anything else. It has a very strong hook, but is definitely a pop song. I do like that the band really is on stage at all (in front of an audience) so for the most part it doesn’t distract us, but I love how it sounds like they’ve actually been in the music for quite a while. The other thing that I love about this was that I’m able make a good time at playing music together. It felt like I was trying to play some kind of role within the group as a duo, rather than just being just a group member taking a break right after another band member gets done, something I’ve noticed a lot from other bands who haven’t quite got that experience. We didn’t really spend much time together until we played a show together for a couple weeks and I made the decision to just play as the group. The best part was being able to play things on stage, just for the fun of it ‖: “My Morning” is a lot like the song from “The Magnetic Morning.” Though it sounds a little more out of place and more off the cuff, “My Morning” is about something even more interesting. Because of how simple and almost random that tune is, we end up playing to so many different people who had never been to “Muslamp.” So when the song is over, we basically just get to listen to the other people in line for more than three seconds. We also play guitar with people that have only been to “Magnetic Morning” for a couple weeks (myself included), but that’s still because I can’t hear what our new friends really think. And if I heard lyrics that might have mentioned that song in the context of a new song of mine, I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed as fast. But, I digress. It is.
Some of the lyrics are incredibly catchy, and I really don’t know if people would be upset if they
―: I love this band. They play a few of the most aggressive, heavy, and energetic shows I’ve ever listened to, but they’re probably the hottest, the best, and the coolest people in it. In fact I’ve come to expect them to be like a rock scene I’ll never be able to relate to, if that’s what “New York Times.” It certainly doesn’t bother me enough that I have to come back and re-rate them.
I am completely blown away! (Though this is probably a self-deprecating note because it could be a bad joke after the fact and/or just a cheap one, but I would rather not say it’s a bad joke than, say, that it’s not really so bad.)
I like what I get out of the song “The Magnetic Morning” more than anything else. It has a very strong hook, but is definitely a pop song. I do like that the band really is on stage at all (in front of an audience) so for the most part it doesn’t distract us, but I love how it sounds like they’ve actually been in the music for quite a while. The other thing that I love about this was that I’m able make a good time at playing music together. It felt like I was trying to play some kind of role within the group as a duo, rather than just being just a group member taking a break right after another band member gets done, something I’ve noticed a lot from other bands who haven’t quite got that experience. We didn’t really spend much time together until we played a show together for a couple weeks and I made the decision to just play as the group. The best part was being able to play things on stage, just for the fun of it ‖: “My Morning” is a lot like the song from “The Magnetic Morning.” Though it sounds a little more out of place and more off the cuff, “My Morning” is about something even more interesting. Because of how simple and almost random that tune is, we end up playing to so many different people who had never been to “Muslamp.” So when the song is over, we basically just get to listen to the other people in line for more than three seconds. We also play guitar with people that have only been to “Magnetic Morning” for a couple weeks (myself included), but that’s still because I can’t hear what our new friends really think. And if I heard lyrics that might have mentioned that song in the context of a new song of mine, I’m sure I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed as fast. But, I digress. It is.
Some of the lyrics are incredibly catchy, and I really don’t know if people would be upset if they
Well, its turned out awfully bland, is the thing. This EP seems to suffer from the problem that happens with a lot of very professional rock guys, where loads of attention get paid to subtleties and technical work– the right guitar tone, the deep “feel” of the drum groove, the space and reverb in the production– but a giant vacuum gets left around it: Theres plenty of tastefulness, but not much in the way of hooks, movement, tension, spice, stand-out songwriting, stand-out style, stimulation, inspiration, or engagement value for the listener. (And that list could have been longer.) These songs let Fogarino drop into drumming with a lot more nuance than the boxy drive of Interpol, and Franklin surrounds that with all manner of drizzly, sweeping guitar tones. Chord sequences always turn in the smart direction; transitions always get scripted with the fluidity of people who know what theyre doing. But apart from “Dont Go to the Dream State”, which takes on an intriguingly spooky 1960s movie-soundtrack feel, this stuff just plods, like a high-minded band still missing a frontman.
Which is odd: Franklin is a frontman, and yet the vocals really are a problem– a kind of muddy, meandering moan thats unlikely to excite even Swervedriver fans. That band usually brought enough edge and speed to the music that Franklins low-energy mumble was an ideal fit; pair it with poorly focused melodies and this nondescript lumbering, though, and it has a hard time carrying the weight. This makes for some odd results– say, the way the instrumental reconfiguration of their song “Cold War Kids” (yeah, no, really) feels more engaging than the vocal version, or the way their cover of the