Guillermo Sexo – Magic Lanterns
4/10

Squally, distorted guitars meet staccato drums and the occasional eerie keyboard to create upbeat, dissonant pop in this Massachusetts band’s debut LP. The music can at times reach the realms of Franz Ferdinand or other guitar bands of that ilk. The only thing letting this album down is the flat female vocals that occasionally creep to the fore and really bring the whole level of expertise down. Singer and keyboard player Noell competes with the guitar in ‘Junior World Champions’ and at times it’s hard to differentiate between the two, which is slightly more intriguing than it is grating, but the rest of the time she carries on in a slightly squawking manner that alternates between alarmingly low or intolerably high, and it’s these high notes that she never quite reaches properly. In other words the overly clean production shows the glaring truth of her limited vocal range, particularly in the title track. Otherwise this is quite an impressive and fairly adventurous debut, with an exciting breakdown in ‘Hurried Moments’ and a great punk energy in ‘Telegrams’. Near the end of the album ‘Cinnamon Park’ hints at very great things, with a more heavy rock vibe. I’d be curious to see what they could do with some more reverb or distortion.
Sarah

 

Posted by Sarah Gooding under Album, Reviews
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