Here We Go Magic -Pigeons

Thu 15th Jul, 2010 in Music Reviews

It’s a painful contradiction, but it’s true: one great song can ruin an album. In that one transcendent moment, when all the stars align and the song just…works, other tracks can feel pale and underwhelming by comparison.

Collector isn’t quite a stars-aligned success, but it is a remarkable burst of vibrant colour and irresistible melody that captures most of what Here We Go Magic have worked towards since their self-titled debut of last year. Luke Temple makes a liar of himself, singing, “I’ve got a mild fascination” with a sugar-rush twitch, as a sparkling, skittering melody plays out. Though it stretches out to just over five minutes, Collector rides its brittle drumbeat with unflagging energy, borne along by arcing synth arpeggios and a racing harpsichord rhythm. It’s arguably the best song in their brief catalogue, and the high watermark against which the rest of Pigeons is judged.

Though it languishes a little in Collector’s shadow, the rest of the album is diverse and energetic enough to merit a few listens. The daydreaming Casual takes the album into the afternoon sunlight for some idle reflection, polar opposite to the neon colours and no-budget funk of album opener Hibernation.

The folkish Bottom Feeder is the most conventional song on the otherwise fractured album, dangerously slowing the album’s pacing, but its opaque lyrics are oddly touching – you don’t need to know quite how someone can be “handsome in all the wrong places” to appreciate the sentiment.

Old World United is a second-half surprise, dressing a delicate melody in alien synths and cluttered percussion to transform it into a surreal hybrid. As the bass slogs away, shards of noisy feedback squawk, seeming to first obscure then emphasise the melody. It’s not an easy listen, and doesn’t challenge Collector for top track, but it’s endearing almost in spite of itself.

Drawn in neon-on-black tones, Pigeon’s energy seems to teeter on the edge of collapse or explosion, often at the same time. Though little of Pigeons is revelatory, its vitality carries it through the doldrums, and the startling ease with which Here We Go Magic shift genres offers plenty of surprises.