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Here We Go Magic

Here We Go Magic
Pigeons

By Chris Drabick

Here We Go Magic leader Luke Temple had been building a name for himself as a painter in the early aughts. Next, he made some inroads as a solo music artist, releasing a couple of well-received folktronica records under his own name as the last decade wore on. He inexplicably abandoned his solo stance, even though he recorded Here We Go Magic’s 2008 debut all by himself in Brooklyn. The first release under the new moniker expanded Temple’s sonic palette a bit, adding Afro-pop and noise-rock to the mixture. With the second HWGM release, Temple’s “band” project has truly become a band, as he’s added four full-time members.

The constant in all of Temple’s music, regardless of name, is his superb voice. That instrument is less the focus on Pigeons, but this remarkably is not to the record’s detriment. Instead, the heart of the album is its stylistic breadth. Normally a band trying on lots of hats results in lots of ill fits, but Pigeons is a happy exception. Its musically all over the place; first single “Collectors” is nervous, Feelies-like rock, the sublime “Bottom Feeder” and sleepy “F.F.A.P” are pretty straightforward, Pavement-inspired tracks, and the delicious “Old World United” is keyboard-based spazz rock. The band throws in touches of krautrock, tribal folk and electronic music on other numbers, and pull off what could easily be affectations with aplomb. Turning Here We Go Magic from nom de rock into an actual band has given Luke Temple his widest sonic palette yet, and Here We Go Magic turns Pigeons in to one of the year’s best records.