Music / Premieres
Premiere:
Magic Ian - The Line
Magic Ian - The Line
Amidst all the turmoil of 2020, there’s one positive constant that’s carried through from 2019 - throwing a twang of "yeehaw" spirit into pop culture. It’s this dash of country spice that carves out a signature sound in Magic Ian’s new psychedelic single 'The Line'.
The Melbourne group had barely formed in the first drippings of 2019 before delivering a three-track debut EP The Pledge in early March. It was a release far wiser sonically than most debuts - 'Can You Simulate My Love?' personally got a lot of flogging that month. With just over a full year gone by, a very solid psych-rock debut has proven the launching point for exploration into pop, blues, jazz, and folk. And the grand reveal? The announcement of a second EP, headed by ‘The Line’ - a wobbling, bittersweet waltz dedicated to the slow-burning “acceptance of what is that allows us to move forward on our own path.”
‘The Line’ ebbs and flows, swaying between drawling solo verses and impassioned choruses backed by the full band’s vocals in harmony. The lyrics are like a postcard sent to an ex, slowly swirling up long-settled dust. As the track reaches a crescendo, the lyrical focus narrows to “the line, oh we laid it on the line” - perhaps it’s a reflection of "the line" being a symbolic point of clarity. In that, frontman Jaxon Pollard describes ‘The Line’ as “a symbol of the truth and honesty needed within our relationships, and on either side of that line are the polarities of life - happy and sad, good and bad.” It’s a poignant take but one that alludes to the maturity we might expect to see in Magic Ian’s sophomore EP The Turn.
The new EP, available on May 1st, is a showcase of Pollard’s writings moulded into life by the full band. For Magic Ian’s new step forward in 2020, Pollard, along with OG bandmates Christian Familar, Harry Firth and Aran Dennis, is joined by Jack Titterington on synth and Claire Waddell-Wood on drums. Combining their signature palette of indie psych-rock with this larger, fleshed-out sound conjures up many exciting possibilities for Magic Ian - and after listening to ‘The Line’, you’re going to want to be front row for their next trick.
‘The Line’ ebbs and flows, swaying between drawling solo verses and impassioned choruses backed by the full band’s vocals in harmony. The lyrics are like a postcard sent to an ex, slowly swirling up long-settled dust. As the track reaches a crescendo, the lyrical focus narrows to “the line, oh we laid it on the line” - perhaps it’s a reflection of "the line" being a symbolic point of clarity. In that, frontman Jaxon Pollard describes ‘The Line’ as “a symbol of the truth and honesty needed within our relationships, and on either side of that line are the polarities of life - happy and sad, good and bad.” It’s a poignant take but one that alludes to the maturity we might expect to see in Magic Ian’s sophomore EP The Turn.
The new EP, available on May 1st, is a showcase of Pollard’s writings moulded into life by the full band. For Magic Ian’s new step forward in 2020, Pollard, along with OG bandmates Christian Familar, Harry Firth and Aran Dennis, is joined by Jack Titterington on synth and Claire Waddell-Wood on drums. Combining their signature palette of indie psych-rock with this larger, fleshed-out sound conjures up many exciting possibilities for Magic Ian - and after listening to ‘The Line’, you’re going to want to be front row for their next trick.
Listen to ‘The Line’ above, before Magic Ian’s sophomore EP The Turn is released on May 1st, through Dead Family Pets.
