The second album from this free-loving eight-piece Californian outfit is full of songs that somehow sound instantly familiar in their 70s hippie-folk-rock vibe, as if they're well-worn sing-alongs from the campfire.
The Magnetic Zeros have the Woodstock family band-style down, with their quasi-religious messages of love, and happiness, and belief. But rather than the often psychedelic euphoria of their debut, Here has a more low-key charm, a "no worries" kind of groove. The lush choral harmonies are a little more distant; the horn lines are slightly muted; the guitars are often acoustic, or when electric the notes fall through in glistening droplets. Opening track Man On Fire is a mellower, hippier Johnny Cash song, and you could probably name-check half a dozen artists (Arcade Fire, Fleetwood Mac, George Harrison) who lend a gentle influence.
It's a strong toe-tapper, but it's hard to know if Sharpe (the born-again alter-ego of Alex Ebert) always really means what he's singing, or whether it's all part of a constructed persona, which means the songs don't carry as much emotional weight as they might.
Stars: 3.5/5
- TimeOut
