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The Student News Site of University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Badger Herald

The Student News Site of University of Wisconsin-Madison

The Badger Herald

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A review of Mrs. Magician’s Majestic set

Before the Cults show Tuesday night, the Majestic had barely enough people to play a decent game of kickball. But those few who came early had the privilege to hear some solid tunes from Mrs. Magician that perfectly capped the lineup.

A crowd of cross-legged teens composed most of the audience at Mrs. Magician’s first ever Madison show. When the lights went on guitars started riffing and the fledgling band proved itself as a contender in a market saturated with seawater.

Amid acts like Wavves and Real Estate this San Diego surfer band plays solid tunes at home on any beach.

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Many sub-genres in the past and present have recruited armies of bland imitators. But the latest reawakening of Beach Boy-fused rock has produced some great bands and catchy tracks.

With songs about ex-girlfriends sleeping around and getting drunk alone in bars, Mrs. Magician brings a modern cynicism to a traditionally romantic genre.

A little of their punk vibe comes out song titles like “I’m Gonna Hangout With The Lesbians Next Door & Drop Acid.” Add a little roughness to the sweet croon of Girls’ vocals and you have Mrs. Magician.

Of course any band that stays committed to a genre is destined to be forgotten in a wash of similar material. One may have that prediction for Mrs. Magician after hearing their sound, which adds a touch of lime to the fish taco that is surf-rock.

But this fledgling band has plenty of time to grow. They released their debut album Strange Heaven only this last March and have been touring ever since.

The band-members looked at home on stage. They have assumed the veteran rocker look people expect from bands they have to pay to see and had the talent to wear it.

Young bands often stumble when trying to translate the studio-sound to the stage but Mrs. Magician played well enough to make a decent demo.

Aside from fuzzed out vocals that made all but one chorus barely audible, the band sounded tight.

After three songs the crowd began warming up to the band. There were whoops and hollers coming from the mouths of even people who just walked into the Majestic.

While Mrs. Magician was an inarguably good band, it is not likely they acquired any new fans Tuesday night. One can get the same fix from them as from any other band riding the waves of their resurgent genre.

Until this fresh-eyed group gains the confidence to experiment with new sonic territory Mrs. Magician dooms itself to be compared to its more successful predecessors.

It is hard to imagine in this world with infinite combinations of computerized sounds that any band could break new ground through the use of rock’s traditional instruments.

Listeners can only hope someone will come around with the imagination to turn rock’s direction from recycling old sounds to creating new ones.

But Mrs. Magician will probably not be that band. While their songs are as pleasant and listenable as any by No Age or Wavves, they lack the originality to draw fans from either of those more well-established bands.

The great thing about Mrs. Magician and any genre that accumulates good bands is that there are more chances for people to see performers doing shows. Fans of sitar music are out of luck, but surf-rock buffs may rejoice at the current musical climate.

Under the Technicolor lights on King street Mrs. Magician put on an energetic show despite a tired crowd, proving themselves as a band to go and see if not listen to at home.

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