Here We Go Magic
February 9, 2009
Brooklyn artists continue to dominate 2009 for me, the latest example being Here We Go Magic, the moniker for singer/songwriter Luke Temple. I’m not sure how I’ve gone this long without hearing about this guy, especially since Sufjan Stevens and Ben Gibbard have both expressed their admiration for his work. On the debut album for Here We Go Magic, Temple creates a dense world of folk and lo-fi pop experimentation all tied together by his ethereal, otherworldy vocals.
The album highlight is “Tunnelvision” a song which is based on an acoustic progression that repeats throughout the song while layers of vocals build on top and Temple’s falsetto woos the listener. The vibe I get from this song is something like an airy, transcendent incarnation of The Dodos. The fluttery background vocals give the feeling of weightlessness on this track. “Fangala” goes a slightly different direction, honing in on tropical / Afropop influences with the percussion and incorporating eerie synths and a lovely acoustic melody. Listen to both below and get an advance download of the album at emusic (official release date, February 24).
***
Pitchfork has a nice recap of the Grammy’s, although I think the Jonas Brothers were less this and more this. Also, I thought Radiohead killed it. if you haven’t watched their performance with the USC marching band yet, you should get on that.
![[del.icio.us]](http://farm1.static.flickr.com/105/272216537_6bdbc1edb7.jpg?v=0){kind=small}
Tags: Grammy's, Here We Go Magic
Posted by Taylor in Artist Spotlight
content rss
February 9th, 2009 at 9:35 pm
Yeah, I was definitely rooting for Radiohead the whole time, but would’ve been perfectly happy if Coldplay had won the top prize. Robert Plant winning is another example of the voters going with something safe and familiar. They will honor Yorke one of these days, you can count on it.
And yeah, I initially questioned their decision to play 15 Step (of all the In Rainbows songs) but their performance with the marching band was riveting.