Monday, December 03, 2007

Review: Magnet School - Tonight...We Drink


Label: Arclight Records

Released: November 13, 2007

Some bands cover songs, others rename songs, but Magnet School has made an album out of a song. At no point do they play or even directly lift anything from "Bullet the Blue Sky," but its presence is profound throughout. Magnet School captures the blues, rock, psychedelia and even the passion of U2's classic and stretch it to album length. That they do so successfully is a tribute to both the song that seems to play in their heart as well as Magnet School themselves. Sure, other influences can be heard, most prominently the Foo Fighters, but none supersedes the one song they must love the most.

One of the best things about Magnet School is how they act as a unit instead of individual players. While it means that no one stands out, it also means that no one stands in the way of the total picture. Throbbing rhythms, ringing guitar and airy vocals work together in a single vision that runs from pop to cacophony.

While the point about "Bullet the Blue Sky" may seem to indicate that Magnet School are either creatively limited or senselessly experimental, but nothing could be farther from the truth. Tonight...We Drink, for all its boldness, is still an amazingly easy listen.

Rating: 8/10

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2 Comments:

Blogger Bill said...

I picked up on a U2 similarity as well Bob although not being a fan of that band didn't nail it down to a song. Also thought "Seventenspit" resembled Oasis and "Ghost Of Duane" cloned Franz Ferdinand.

Overall Indie-rock that's not really my cup of tea but I can actually see them doing well.

http://www.peacedogman.com/reviews/111607mschool.htm


Bill

3:59 PM  
Blogger Ray Van Horn, Jr. said...

This is the one album I've spun an easy 20 times and still haven't written the damn review yet, shame on me. I adore this little nugget and you and I had the chat about the U2 connection...I heard some War-era U2 on the middle tracks, while the Foo Fighter connection you mentioned is accurate in the later songs.

11:37 AM  

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