To date, Luke Temple has been unconfined by genre. His full-length debut Hold a Match for a Gasoline World presented heartfelt folk tunes and expansive pop numbers filtered through a unique outsider perspective. Last year’s follow-up Snowbeast was an avant statement full of interwoven light and dark imagery recorded entirely in his Brooklyn bedroom.
Developed over a two-month period of stream-of-consciousness recording in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, Luke’s self-titled debut under his new moniker Here We Go Magic is a remarkable departure from his signature singer-songwriter material. Luke recorded the album at home using analog synths, a cassette 4-track, and his trusty SM-57 mic, coloring the sound with warmth and creating textures you want to wrap yourself in.
The album opens with the trance-inducing polyrhythms and gorgeous multi-layered vocals of “Only Pieces. ” What follows is an album oozing with sounds maternal and subconscious…like floating in amniotic fluid, ripe, hiccup-y and desperate to emerge. Many of the songs pulse with infectious afro-beat and kraut-rock influenced grooves, calling to mind classic albums like Remain in Light and Graceland. In contrast, the instrumental tracks conjure mystical introspective landscapes reminiscent of Popol Vuh’s unforgettable ambience.
Despite the album’s murky aquatic underpinnings it’s hard to resist shakin what you got to ebullient blissed-out tracks like “Fangala” and “Tunnelvision.” The album closes with “Everything’s Big”, a bleak commentary on weakness and fear birthed of opulence and gluttony. Luke’s fragile tenor delivers this absurd carnival waltz with the fervor and abandon of a teetotaler under the influence, never breaking the spell of the album’s mood of rejuvenation and release.
A note from Here We Go Magic:
We like the way the name sounds so we set it to music. Our own Luke made a beautiful record and we joined him to make something together. We are creating songs from melodies that can turn from gorgeous to challenging to a little scary and back again. Sounds are driven and shaped by, but hopefully never grounded by, rhythms that entrance before performing a somersault. It all seems silly on paper, but there are no dirty words: groovy, psychedelic, pretty etc… are all fair game.
It is our hope that we generate something generous and surprising, crafted but instinctive, even as it coalesces. So far it is a lovely ruckus.
US Tour Dates With Grizzly Bear
Fri – 05.29 – New York, NY Town Hall
Sun – 05.31 – New York, NY Music Hall Of Williamsburg
Mon – 06.01 – Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Tue – 06.02 – Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Theatre
Wed – 06.03 – Boston, MA Berklee Performance Center
Thu Р06.04 РMontr̩al, QC Le National
Fri – 06.05 – Toronto, ON Phoenix
Sat – 06.6 – Chicago IL Empty Bottle
Sun – 06.07 – Minneapolis, MN Cedar Cultural Center
Mon – 06.08 – Milwaukee, WI Pabst Theatre
Tue – 06.09 – Bloomington, IN Buskirk – Chumley Theater
Thu – 06.11 – Carrboro, NC Cat’s Cradle
Fri – 06.12 – Atlanta GA The Earl
Mon – 06.15 – Dallas, TX Granada Theater
Tue – 06.16 – Austin, TX The Parish
Fri – 06.19 – Los Angeles, CA The Wiltern
Sun – 06.21 – San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
Fri – 07.03 – New York NY South Street Seaport
Tracklisting
Only Pieces
Fangela
Ahab
Tunnelvision
Ghost List
I Just Want To See You Underwater
Babyohbabyijustcantstanditanymore
Nat’s Alien
Everything’s Big