This new release caught my ears this week which we think is really worth checking out. San Francisco based Tim Cohen who has featured in a number of bands including The Fresh and Onlys and Sonny & The Sunsets. River of Souls is his third offering with his band, Magic Trick, offering ten tracks that were recorded in his attic studio called ‘The Tree House’. There is a comfort to these new songs which draw on insecurities, escapism, love and life’s everyday kinks and twists.
River of Souls signals a new approach for Magic Trick. As in The Fresh and Onlys, Tim has begun to distinguish his muses from those of the foggy San Francisco lo-fi movement that he helped to shape. Mixed at Lucky Cat Studios with Phil Manley and mastered by Paul Oldham, this album exudes presence and confidence. Now, more than ever, the vocals break through the clouds, and the mix champions the artistry in each player’s performance. Tim’s baritone spars with angelic female chants (Noelle Cahill and Alicia Vanden Heuvel) over the crisp unmistakable pulse of James Kim’s drums, and the melodic drive of Alicia’s bass throughout. San Francisco’s gifted guitar workhorse, Tom Heyman, channels Mark Knopfler; one-man metal mystery, Steve Peacock, brings the right kind of shred; and Marc Cappelle’s horns retort the melodies, as Tim jettisons his woes upriver. It is clear with each downbeat the band has honed its language and perfected its chemistry.
Keeping with tradition, the LP version is presented in a classic tip-on sleeve featuring artwork by Kevin Earl Taylor. The first 500 copies come in half-red and half-blue vinyl.
Released 02 December 2013 via Empty Cellar Records
http://emptycellarrecords.bandcamp.com/releases