Strange Majik mainman David Pattillo is a well known studio hand from New York, whom between 2011-2013 was most often seen as half of garage blues duo The Dead Exs. After two excellent albums in that stripped back and distorted style, his Strange Majik project finds the multi-instrumentalist spreading his wings. Pattillo’s Strange Magik guise is primarily a vehicle to experiment with a world of music that largely would never have fit The Exs straight ahead mood and also allows him to work with a revolving cast of musicians and vocalists. The end results straddle funk and r ‘n’ b, with a swathe of old fashioned psychedelic guitars beefing up the sound – the message here is to close your eyes, open your mind and feel the majik.
Category Archives: Album & EP Reviews
SUPER LUXURY – Ten Solid Years Of Applause
In 2012 Leeds based noisemakers Super Luxury released a cassette EP that acted as a short and sharp assault on the senses, the musical equivalent of a kick in the nuts. Not too long after, a couple of their members moonlighted as part of Cattle, an awesome noise-rock trio whose debut EP featured one of the best bass sounds ever committed to record. Two and a half years on from their original EP, Super Luxury dropped this full-length release, ‘Ten Solid Years of Applause’. A couple of line-up changes – most notably the drafting in of bassist Tom Goodall from Cattle – has had a huge effect on the tunes as well as effectively blurring the lines between the two bands a little farther. Perhaps due to the increased relation with Cattle, this second time around, SL sound far more assured.
TOUGH – Obey The Ramones EP
Italian punks Tough [not to be confused with Poison wannabes, glam rockers Tuff] first appeared in the mid-noughties from which point they kept themselves busy knocking out material on various DIY labels. In addition to various split 7”s, by 2013 they had four albums under their collective belt and had increased their following with each passing year. Their 2014 EP ‘Obey The Ramones’ might just be their best to date, its four high energy numbers presenting the best in melodic punk.
KRISSY MATTHEWS – Scenes From a Moving Window
Starting his career at the age of twelve, Krissy Matthews set out to leave a mark on the world of blues music from a very young age. Like Joe Bonamassa, he possesses a great talent and feel for the genre and his instrument, but unlike Bonamassa, he is far more selective with regard to the speed of which he records and releases albums. Despite only being twenty two at the time of this album’s release, ‘Scenes From a Moving Window’ marks the end of a four year studio silence. It also marks a step up in the bluesman’s fortunes, having secured the legendary Cream lyricist Pete Brown (Piblokto/Moving Ornaments) as co-writer on eleven of the album’s tracks.
I US & WE – Mono EP
Blending elements of dream pop and synth pop, California’s I Us & We create a fairly spacious, yet melancholy sound on their debut EP ‘Mono’. Like Australia’s MNTNS, their core sound is heavy on electronic drones and synths, but thankfully like the more melodic elements of Moby or the very best parts of Depeche Mode’s expansive catalogue, somehow manages to eschew most of the coldness that such humanly detached sounds might conjure if left in the hands of the lesser talented.