Magnifico – Magnification
Reviewed by Sadie O., 9/23/10
OK, pay attention! This is a long one…
Wacky Balkan Gypsy brass/spaghetti western/mariachi/lounge/disco/mambo/club/pop.
That’s enough to get you started, at least. From Slovenia, where they apparently are having FUN (“does anyone remember laughter?”) Crazy stuff.
No FCCs detected, at least in quasi-English. All great. I like 10 and 12 best, then 1, 3, 7, 11, 13, then everything else.
1. 3:20 ****big rock ‘n’ roll intro, high-speed gypsy mambo. Breathy male vocals in English – crazy mashup!
2. 4:40 ***low street sounds for a few seconds, then bouncy acoustic strumming, sneaky horns, then full-on mariachi trumpets, groovy wiggle, vocals in English. Deeply constipated guitar solo.
3. 3:50 ****hippy hoppy scratching intro, then downbeat groovy samba with a bit of whammy bar, fun vocals in English.
4. 3:47 ***wild gypsy horns and high speed folk pop, vocals in Slovenian. Very bouncy.
5. 3:28 **uptempo, I’m not sure what you’d call this – mostly percussive elements and slinky/sleazy/obsessive vocals in English.
6. 4:23 ***uptempo but rather restrained groove, vocals in Slovenian. Bit of Highlife feel, bit of twangy guitar… Fades out a minute before end, bit of loungey singing with very slight bit of pedal steel, laughter.
7. 3:17 ****record scratchy noise, bit of talk, then uptempo oompah, goofy counting song in Italian. Crazy combination of sounds.
8. 3:11 ***sleazy gigolo song in English, but with the coolest syncopation… (remake of a song already on his other album – twice…)
9. 3:33 ***electronic tape squoobles, then downtempo slinky clubby something with inspired gypsy horns, vocals in English. Fraught. With what, I don’t know.
10. 3:23 *****rather beautiful, soulful gypsy lament (or something – lyrics in Slovenian, so it could be anything…) Big spaghetti western moments. Brilliant.
11. 4:17 ****downbeat squonky reggae with spaghetti western guitar, silly love duet in English, electronic squoots. Absurdly fun. Bits of cowboy gypsy dub.
12. 2:56 *****uptemp Rawhide-esque romp. NUTS. Oh god! If you want your music serious, please avoid this! Ha ha!
13. 3:30 ****gypsy/spaghetti/mariachi cover of “House of the Rising Sun” with a switch to a lament about Yugoslavia. Gnarly! (also on his previous record we have.)
14. 2:59 ***pure country twangy hoke, pidgin English. Also a remake of a song on his previous record, COMPLETELY switched up musically.
15. 3:13 ***slinky sleazy pedal steel lounge, vocals in Slovenian. A bit Santo and Johnny, maybe? Or is it Bent Fabric?