Dually based Brooklyn, NY and Athens, VT band Magnetic Island scored the majority of its self-titled full-length during the weeks bordering Hurricane Irene’s fury– a factor that comes through in their heavy, overcast sound. The amalgamation of former New York City band Renminbi and a smattering of guest talent, Magnetic Island proclaims themselves disciples of the ’90s droned out guitar wall of sound with their past year of self-promoted Bandcamp releases.
Magnetic Island is an atmospheric album with an identity crisis: Lisa Liu’s intertwining guitar creates both sinewy and gloomy melodies pitched by vocals that waver between Patti Smith-inspired monotone and apathetic drab. “Don’t Need it Now” emphasizes the band’s alto-heavy, layered guitar style yet the subsequent tracks are lost in layer upon layer of sound. The guitar sludge—so characteristic of the band’s influences—is overdone here, washing out the vocals and distracting the listener from a cohesive song on pieces such as “In Theory” and “When You’re Finished”. Both unique and artistically valuable in their own right, the combinations of brooding, often clanging guitars trap the minimally expressive vocals in an undertow of noise, causing the album to sound flat as a whole.
“The Thing Itself and Not the Myth” sounds like a nine-minute epic poised for a howling release unjustly compressed into four minutes. It’s points like these on Magnetic Island that the band could heed their heroes’ cinematic gems: the Gordon/Moore tension that carries Sonic Youth, or the raw emotion of Portishead’s Beth Gibbons.
“Acadia” sculpts a wintery atmosphere, but lacks some much-needed texture to complete the sound of pensive longing. A final glimmer, closer “Second Hand” features a melodic call-and-response that gives way to a pleasant instrumental hidden track. It’s apparent that Magnetic Island has a sound that potentially could be engaging; unfortunately, this LP lacks the necessary ingredients.
Essential Tracks: “Don’t Need it Now”, “Second Hand”
