The Decibel Tolls

I know what you’re thinking, another “castles” band, but these guys cut out the middleman of silicon chips and 404’s and tap directly into the jam spell-book. Magic Castles were assembled in Minneapolis, MN, at the end of 2006 by songwriter Jason Edmonds. Incorporating aspects of blues, classic psych, experimental, and folk, they have since become a fixture their local scene, playing intimate shows at bonfires, farms, and music shoppes.

Fast forward one year and these boys have crafted six new songs for their new album on Moon Glyph Tapes. Recorded “between the witching hour and three a.m” over the past couple months, Songs of the Forest is a collection of simple mantras powering heavy results. They exercise a good range of aesthetics on thier third LP, like the angular guitar and distant UFO organs On “Wayne-O” that lays down the matting for Edmonds’ vexed balladry. While spacious tracks like “Songs of the Forest” build carousel momentum with White Light/White Heat inspired rollicking distortion, slowly levitating the group’s energy, awaiting divine interjections of trombone and unexplained sounds.

Magic Castles could easily be lumped in with New Weird America, but their complexity of influences keeps them arms length from the tedious novelties that tend go with along with that label. These recordings are remarkably well mixed for so many elements going directly to tape, keeping the tones saturated and hypnotizing without sacrificing any clarity. A lot of home made psych jams put out through small labels sound like they were a lot of fun to make, but their indulgence can make them fall flat to third party ears like an inside joke. Songs of the Forest, however, manages to balance that same DIY spirit with an execution of purpose that makes the strength of these tunes self-evident.

Songs of the Forest is available now through Moon Glyph Tapes.

For fans of: Willie Lane, Spiritualized, Velvet Underground

MP3 :::
Magic Castles – Wayne-O
Magic Castles – Songs of the Forest