Here We Go Magic - Live Review

New York – It was past 10:40 on Monday night when Here We Go Magic took the stage at the Brooklyn venue Baby’s All Right, beers in every hand like a troop of champs. Broken-off bottoms of colored bottles makeup the backlit mural of the stage. Against this backdrop, the band stood boldly silhouetted by a brilliant neon rainbow.

This darkened yet colorful scene perfectly mirrored the set Here We Go Magic was about to deliver over the next hour, track after track of neatly stacked, dream-synth parcels of art.

The group’s sound is psychedelic pop that borders on the insanity of Animal Collective-esque atmospheres, without crossing any thresholds. Rather, their work bears an undeniably accessible air. In a genre like psychedelia, where discomfort can lurk around any bend, we find a welcomed comfortability in their sound. What this group delivers is delicately mastered, tediously tendered tracks dripping in synth and soul, rich in reverb.

Structurally, the group played in a “U” formation. A distinct departure from the norm, it called to mind Grizzly Bear’s signature single line setup. With drums taking center stage, the remaining members on strings, keyboard and vocals were splayed symmetrically downstage, facing one another more so than their crowd. This created a sense of cohesion and balance, and established a connection between the musicians for us to witness.

Playing to a packed house, the group jumped right into “Make Up Your Mind,” followed immediately by “Alone But Moving,” to cheers from the crowd. Next up was “Tunnelvision,” a breakout track for this gang from 2009, it was truly stellar to behold. The live incarnation was a prolonged version, complete with a flute breakdown. A hard-hitting variation, it came through so intensely that layers of sweatshirts were shed onstage before the band could transition into the full-bodied jam “I Believe In Action” (fitting at this juncture).

By this point the energy was so complete it was almost gritty how the drummer played on. Then, sweet relief, they dissolved seamlessly into “Over The Ocean.” There is something about this track that borders on the spiritual. Slowly spoken prose, it is ethereal in its grandeur. Front man Temple had the crowd head bobbing in agreement to each lyrical line delivered. As Temple sang, we who watched were right there with him over the proverbial ocean, believing in something big.

The remainder of the set breezed by, a blissed-out expedition through variations on “Collector,” “Fangela,” and the ever-affecting “How Do I Know.” The group preformed with apparent effervescence, and Temple sang with all the languid anguish of a well-loved musician.

The group left us just before midnight, and the crowd was skeptical for an encore. Some filtered out, prematurely, but the gang came back to deliver an all-consuming rendition of “Land Of Feelings.” It was a beautiful close to the evening, and a gentle sendoff into darkened Williamsburg.

Here We Go Magic has been around since late 2008, originally vocalist Luke Temple, guitarist Michael Bloch and percussionist Peter Hale. After their debut album was released on Western Vinyl, the trio transitioned into a five-member act to include keyboardist Kristina Lieberson and bassist Jen Turner. They signed onto Secretly Canadian in 2009, subsequently releasing Pigeons (2010), The January EP (2011), and A Different Ship (2012).

In their years together, they have toured with Dr. Dog, Local Natives, Broken Social Scene and Andrew Bird to name a few knock out pairings. On Monday night they played with a stacked bill, which included Christopher Bear, Benjamin Campbell, Aaron Arntz and Nightlands. This group rises above the rest, and their live set did them justice. With no shows scheduled as of this writing, the diehard among us will lie in wait for whatever this group has to offer up next.

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Liz Rowley

Born in Mexico and raised in Toronto, Jerusalem and Chicago by a pair of journalists, Liz comes to BestNewBands.com with an inherited love of writing. After discovering a niche for herself in music journalism and radio while at Bates College in Maine, she always keeps a running playlist of new music to soundtrack her place in the world. Liz is passionate about helping dedicated, talented musicians gain the exposure they deserve. A recent transplant to Brooklyn from Hawaii, she is plagued by an incurable case of wanderlust and cursed with an affinity for old maps and old things like typewriters and vintage books. She adores photography and running and is very good with plants. Having come of age in Chicago, Wilco speaks to her soul. If she could be anything, she would be a cat in a Murakami novel.