Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > October > 04 > Entry
Live review: Here We Go Magic
Here We Go Magic, the latest project from psychedelic folkie Luke Temple, has itself a pleasantly self-effacing front man.
“Here’s a new song,” Temple said halfway through his band’s early Sunday afternoon set. “Well, actually, all these songs are probably new to most of you, but this one’s new for us, too.”
It takes a winningly charming songwriter to make reference to his own obscurity, but then that’s appropriate for Here We Go Magic. Between their cheeky band name and their bouncy indie pop tunes, the band seems to have adopted charm as their ultimate goal.
Although said new song was a dance-worthy indie delight with an excellent bass line that recalled the iconic riff from the ’60s “Batman” TV show, Temple struck largely to tunes from the band’s debut, released earlier this year on Austin’s Western Vinyl. He’s since been signed to Secretly Canadian and added members to the band, filling out the somewhat spare pleasures of the first album’s songs.
When the band dipped into its more atmospheric, droning compositions — as with the opening and closing songs or the slow build on the eventually joyous “Only Pieces” — Temple seemed to lose the crowd. But when the band focused on its bouncy strengths Here We Go Magic succeeded in breaking away from their amateur-hour-Arcade Fire weaknesses. And when Temple instructed those in the audience “who did know the song” to clap along on an enthused take on “Fangela,” a surprising number of onlookers knew just what to do, suggesting that Here We Go Magic’s charm is winning converts surprisingly quickly.
Follow Austin Music Source on Facebook and Twitter.
Permalink | | Categories: ACL 2009: Sunday, ACL Festival 2009
