Garment District, The / If You Take Your Magic Slow
Album: If You Take Your Magic Slow   Collection:General
Artist:Garment District, The   Added:Oct 2014
Label:Night People  

A-File Activity
Add Date: 2014-10-31 Pull Date: 2015-01-02
Week Ending: Jan 4 Dec 21 Nov 16 Nov 9
Airplays: 1 1 3 2

Recent Airplay
1. Jan 01, 2015: Meow: The Best Of 2014
Secondhand Sunburn
4. Nov 11, 2014: funk to folk
Secondhand Sunburn
2. Dec 18, 2014: Meow
June's End
5. Nov 10, 2014: In The Year One Thousand, Eight Thousand
Secondhand Sunburn
3. Nov 13, 2014: Meow
Secondhand Sunburn
6. Nov 06, 2014: Meow
Secondhand Sunburn

Album Review
Pixel
Reviewed 2014-11-02
Airy, mellow and keyboard-driven indie-pop with saccharine female vocals. The Garment District is the efforts of multi-instrumentalist Jennifer Baron. If You Take Your Magic Slow is her first full-length album, and the title says it all. The songs’ charm is in their dreamy and laid-back summery feel, but Baron never strays far from this formula. Her melodies are just right for wandering without anywhere in particular to go.

Favorites: 5, 8, 10. FCC clean.

RIYL: Belle and Sebastian, Of Montreal, Architecture in Helsinki

1. (3:16) Subtle, rolling drums lead into the main backdrop for the album: keys and sweetly melancholy vocals. Cheerful, slight ‘60s pop feel. Dies down at 2:50 and then comes back up a few seconds later featuring a jaded-sounding guitar.
2. (3:31) Instrumental. Slow and key-driven once again. A bright tune of longing with a silver lining.
3. (5:07) Fuzzy, escalating guitar, then keys and clear, super-sweet vocals painting scenes of an imaginary wintry town. This along with sleigh bells throughout make it feel like we’re inside a snow globe.
4. (3:38) Another instrumental. Playful, teasing. The keys looping and chiming together this time would fit right in a cutesy mystery video game. Psychedelic guitar comes in at 1:45.
5. *(5:17) Instrumental. Synth + drum machine = ‘80s-inspired tune. Didn’t see this one coming! Spacy and pleasantly atmospheric. The recurring melody that closes out the song, which reminds me of “Emily’s Theme” from the movie Brick, is tinged but not drenched in sadness.
6. (3:38) Quarter notes, cascading, cheerful keys. Vocals - “Along a sundrenched room” pretty much covers it. Slightly quicker chorus with a full band. Mellow throughout.
7. (5:03) Instrumental, electronic chimes, mood like we’re in a Victorian tearoom that someone designed in the Sims? Strange psychedelic keys come and go.
8. *(3:30) Keys start slow and stand alone. Then a groovy bass line, drums, and a xylophone make for the quickest, catchiest section of the album thus far. Oscillates between this and a calmer mid-tempo melody for the rest of the song. Instrumental.
9. (5:23) The electronic version of a plucky guitar, almost banjo-like. Drum machine bass kicks in after 12 seconds, but the song never fully takes off. Instead, playful and somewhat spooky keys add another layer. Add in some vague bird sounds and rinse and repeat. Instrumental.
10. *(3:03) Instrumental. Fades in with keys and slow drums. Like previous songs, builds up to a slightly faster full band and then comes down again. At once wandering, peaceful and resigned. I enjoyed this as a closing track.

Track Listing
1. Secondhand Sunburn   6. Soon We See Green
2. Weird Birds And Strange Days   7. Song For Remy Charlip
3. Bell Book And Candle   8. June's End
4. Cavendish On Whist   9. Velvie Woolvine
5. Miraculous Metal   10. Jonquil Place