4 or 5 Magicians

4 or 5 Magicians - Forever on The Edge (Tom Waits Version) 4 or 5 Magicians 3 comments 4 or 5 Magicians

4 or 5 Magicians are an unsigned alt-rock group from Brighton, England who make life very easy for impressed journalists, who can just call them 'magic' and move on. Said impressed journalists are becoming a bit easier to find lately, as the group gathers momentum. They formed almost by accident two years ago, when the frontman, Dan Ormsby, realised he needed a group for a performance at very short notice and assembled the band's lineup.

Their sound is probably best described as 'Pavement had a baby with The Pixies, and it has the accent of the Arctic Monkeys and the twee-free snark of Blur'. It takes you right back to the early 90's, which was the halcyon time for blunt riffs and witty slacker disillusionment with the mainstream. Case in point- one of their songs, 'Forever On The Edge', goes on about not being signed- 'I'm wasting my time in this band / Pinning all my hopes on getting signed / Well it could happen / Some idiot might sign us…. Forever on the edge/Sainsbury's Basics till I'm dead'. If the London music scene knows what it's doing, they won't be waiting long. Don't be deceived by the sparseness of the accompanying track, which is a reworking of their upcoming album's title song; the original's guitar sound is closer to Gang Of Four.

Pavement is the most obvious parent, with Ormsby identifying Stephen Malkmus as a core influence, but it's not a case of shameless emulation. I was trying to figure out why I liked them so immediately, and I think it's because they really know what they want to sound like, and have moved past love letters to Malkmus and into their own unique space. While the sound quality on their Myspace-streamed tracks is a bit wavering (Ormsby's half-spoken deadpan lyrics sometimes get drowned out a bit, which is a pity, because they're biting without being pretentious), it's music with a hell of a kick in it.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/4or5magicians

 11/12/2007 08:55:21  jennifer my♥posts