A new release from The Magnetic North Band delivers a soiree of warm and welcoming indie rock that boasts some emotional backbone and heavily beckons in an early 90s radio rock vibe.
The release is called The Ginger Demos, and it's composed of three tracks, each with its own mood and approach but they all have this confluent almost contemporary pop-rock feel that to me, again, was very nostalgic as I grew up in a time where this kind of stuff.
If this was the aesthetic these guys were going for then it's completely nailed with everything from the guitar tones to the way the vocals are performed feeling spot on.
There's something about these songs that are reminiscent of a live performance, and I think it has to do with the energy and approach. It feels like all of these guys were in the same room feeding off of each other the entire time and that's why you get this sort of live energy.
Of course, I wasn't there so I'm not sure how they recorded it but, listening to the record makes you want to see them live because if that kind of energy is captured so well on the release, then seeing it live must be even better.
The record starts with a track called "Michael" which is a great track to introduce the EP with simply because it captures a lot of the essence of what you'll hear throughout the other two songs.
This is the only track on the record however, that has a bit of a southern tonality to it. As if it was influenced more by Americana than anything else. It's got a little bit of a swing-time drumbeat, and everyone follows suit giving it that southern feel which only makes things seem even warmer, so I quite enjoyed that.
You do get some of the staple vocal approaches on this track and some of the great guitar tones that you're going to hear so there is great confluence between this song and the others.
This was great because it gave me some insight into the different kinds of influences the band actually has.
That single is followed up by the second track, "Crocodylus Tears", which definitely boasts some of that emotional push I mentioned earlier and has much more of that '90s radio feel. This is a cleaner song with guitars that are a bit less distorted but halfway through the track they start getting a little bit edgier.
This song makes you realize they paid a lot of attention to the details of the tones and arrangements for these tracks.
This song also boasts more of that live performance feel. There's something about it that makes you feel like you're right there in the moment with them.
I have to love a band that pulls me into the song so that I can connect with it.
When you listen to the lyrics of this track, he begins to really understand it sentiment and why it's got more of that emotional pull.
The last track on the release is "Important Song", which is an amazing one, in my opinion, the best on the record.
I like to call this one cinematic rock.
This song boasts a bright, pop-rock-style chorus and is the kind of song that you can hear on the radio. It's got an outstanding hook and something that wraps itself around you and keeps you right where it wants to.
The vocals are performed with a great deal of passion. You can hear the authenticity in the songs because of the vocal performance and I definitely enjoyed how this whole record was put together.
Some of their staple sounds are having a clean guitar with a lightly distorted guitar playing something a little bit different over it. This gives depth and layers to the track, blends textures, and just makes everything feel bigger.
You also have that influx of influences and it's something that makes you want to listen to all of the songs.
Again, no two songs are too alike here. You get slightly different vibes and moods from each of these tracks, and I think it's important to express that the moods of the songs are what leave the impact.
Yes, there's plenty of catchiness and again, that pop coding that's sort of always there but there is something real about these songs as well and I can't get around this live performance vibe and how that energy is captured really well.
This was a great release and speaks volumes for the band because they were able to pull something off that made me feel like I was reliving certain elements of my own past almost like some of these songs could have served as the soundtrack to certain chapters in my own life.
It's been a very long time since I've connected to a song in that manner, and this was an awesome experience.
Check this EP out and see what it does for you.
Remember where you heard it first.
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