Natural Magic

Hung on a hypnotic pulse that pays as much homage to the dance floor roots of duo Michael McKinnon and Matthew Quiet as it does the German Progressive ‘70s and the psych-soaked underground of their Portland home, the new record from Natural Magic opens a new chapter for the band. The duo have been purveyors of the Limited Edition party in Portland for years, and their first release for Boomarm Nation hinted at ties back to the floor. On II, the band tumbles down a rabbit hole of dub, psych, Kosmiche, and other refractions from the crystalline caverns. The first single, “Don’t Look Back,” with its head-nod throb and stalactite drip of guitars tipped toward fellow Northwest alums like Moon Duo, but the band doesn’t let themselves linger too long into one sound. The record certainly has crossover appeal for anyone enamored with the worlds of Ripley Johnson, but on II Natural Magic dip through the hook of iced delirium and arrive sprawled in the humid hollows of dub, numbed along the way by some ambient reverberations.

From the first moments the record grabs the listener, ushering them on a journey towards cosmic transcendence. They hook in with the Neu gone grimey pound of “Galaxy Builder,” a title that’s card and key to the next hour’s ride. The rhythms slow through syncopated syrup and saturated prisms as the band expands towards the outer rims on the album’s first side, but by the time the listener hooks into the starlight sparkle of “Skyward Eye,” baked in the band’s bliss, the record turns it’s attentions back towards a quicker pulse. There’s something to sink into for Sun Araw and Emeralds fans yearning for that post-millennium melt, but the production from Optimo’s JD Twitch (his last work sadly) paints the record more Düül than Heavy Deeds. It’s a hot house head trip with a degree in ‘70s pastoral prog. The record feels like it has the credentials to crop up on Bleep and Boomkat lists, but here’s hoping it gets to the hands of the heads as well.

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