Man, after long weeks of some work, I get back to looking at the Billboard charts, and guess who's at the top? Magic! I mean, Magic? Okay...? Ever since getting free from my work and really getting back to the musical enthusiast side, I felt that since new albums are coming up (Ariana Grande's My Everything is dropping in a few weeks from now), let's talk about this one.
So the debut album from the Canadian reggae fusion band, titled Don't Kill The Magic, was officially released a month ago. To my surprise, I found their hit-song, Rude, on the top of the Billboard Hot 100 this week and man, was I confused. Now, not many reggae acts with decent quality and viability have been able to sustain in the English, US, UK mainstream scene, let alone even touch it. With a pop, Magic!'s Rude instantly became popular (I have no idea how, so let me give you a simplistic review of their single). Rude is mediocre, makes no sense lyrically and reeks of absence of decent expression. I don't detest the song personally, but I don't get the song's popularity. Considering it knocked Fancy off it's perch on the Hot 100, it should be a good song, right? Rude does not deliver on all cylinders and merely leaves some un-turned. Yes the problem does lie in the lyrics, but the vocals don't do itself justice as well. The line 'why you gotta' be so rude' makes no sense to the father saying no to a marriage. I mean, I would call somebody rude when they start spewing insults to me, not decline an invitation or blessing. The only thing that was decently adequate was the instrumentals. The percussion and drums are all pound-in, very synonymous alongside each other. Unfortunately, pulled down by an abomination ringing around it's rose. And... that's really the entire album. There was potential. Not squandered, but rather disinterested with their own appeal. The mainstream audience may love the melodies on the record, but nothing jumps out to me as creative nor inspiring. Thus, in my opinion, the only thing coming close to being truly decently above average, is Mama Didn't Raise No Fool. That is probably the best song on the record. Now, I know the band wants to imitate the likes of The Police, who were very popular and was a very important band during the late 80's, but I just don't see Magic! being able to hit that stride. Let Your Hair Down, No Evil and Stupid Me have weak vocals, unmotivated lyrics, and the fact that they peach nearer to the reggae side, they might as well have been a pop rock band. At this point, I understand somewhat the direction and it's appeal. Okay, they aren't the best band in the world but they aren't flat out terrible. To go from a great start in Rude, to an abomination by the end of the single left me wondering if the band truly had any idea of the direction they were heading for. The drums on Little Girl Big World and guitars stick out on the podium, but the vocals are just on a different opposite pole. The lyrics are just picking up with what is just leftover. Their next single, which is the album title, really lends to the fact that the band definitely have no clue in their expertise. As such, Magic! is just a hit and run, smash and grab musical artist. I will see them when they release a new album, but I expect it to be better than this. If, they truly are better than this. Rating: 4/10 Favourite Tracks: Mama Didn't Raise No Fool Least Favourite Tracks: Almost everything else Good percussion, drums and instrumentals, weak tone, weak lyrics, weak presentation and absolutely sluggish finish. To even see them hit the Hot 100 chart baffles me. Magic! has to improve or they will master the act of disappearing.
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AuthorBenny Ong: Just your regular guy who likes soccer more than most people, and also a little downtime is pretty nice. Archives
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