Outside Lies Magic

Slowcore / melancholic indie rock. Mostly slow-mid tempo; simple drumming; dreamy, delayed, or clean guitar parts; and newly prominent synths. The second wave slowcore group from Bloomington and the early days of Secretly Canadian that was always a little more atmospheric, twangy, lush, and post-rock-y than their peers and influences is back with their first record in over a decade. It's a special one, too, as they have streamlined the songs to be quite digestible, but retain melancholy and incorporate the wisdom of life experience. It's not a reunion thing, more like the adults got jobs and needed to find a way to make music without sleeping on floors anymore. Now they're in New Orleans. Band connections to Songs: Ohia, Okkervil River, Codeine. Yeah, RIYL if you like the aforementioned and maybe early The National, The New Year, Idaho, etc. Don't think they're big on TikTok, but please check them out! This is a gift.

*1. Midtempo 3/4 builds to a gorgeous bridge that pulls at the heart strings and we are back with the greats (4:55)
2. Harmonica, interesting chord progression, and poppy structural elements (3:22)
3. The single. Beautiful rhythmic choruses and gets as close to anthemic as slowcore can. (6:03)
4. Slower guitar driven with twinkly sequencers and drifts into an ambient outro (4:32)
*5. Starts off sounding like an outtake from their album Let Us Garlands Bring and then morphs into something that almost channels Bruce Springsteen (in a good way) (4:33)
6. Probably the most upbeat on here with a driving bassline. Actually sounds a little like Acetone. (4:47)
*7. Heartbreaking, slow, simple (4:20)
*8. Maybe more of a literal one about the blue collar GulF Coast. Piercing and weighty. (4:37)
*9. Emmerich reviewed an earlier release of this song some years back. I love this re-recorded version. It's cleaner, longer. Nighttime desperation and trying to make a connection with another human. Synth-driven. (6:54)
10. Reprise of 5. Minimal synth with lovely subtle low end bass. Instrumental.