Bio: Magic Wands debut album, Aloha Moon, is a ten-song cosmic dance through the universe where the voices echo, the keyboards shimmer and the guitars splash like giant waves on an ... (more)
Bio: Magic Wands debut album, Aloha Moon, is a ten-song cosmic dance through the universe where the voices echo, the keyboards shimmer and the guitars splash like giant waves on an island in space. The first full album from Chris and Dexy Valentine steps into an uncharted sonic territory the band has dubbed "lovewave."
Chris and Dexy both grew up on the East Coast playing in punk bands, but both were looking for something different. The duo began chatting on the phone after meeting online when Chris was living in Nashville and Dexy in LA. After Chris heard an early version of Dexy’s song “Teenage Love”, he knew there was an instant connection. The band’s name comes from their early days as a duo, after Chris sent Dexy a magic wand as a gift.
On his first visit to Hollywood, Chris helped Dexy pack up her old Mercedes and together they drove to Nashville, where they began recording early demos on an 8-track cassette recorder. By March 2008, they had recorded their Magic Love & Dreams EP with John Hill (Rhianna, Shakira, Lykke Li). They signed with Bright Antenna in early 2009, released the EP in May of that year and headed out to tour with the likes of The Kills, The Horrors, The Raconteurs, The Black Keys, The Virgins, Black Kids and The Teenagers. They also made appearances at SXSW and Lollapalooza as the engine to Dexy’s old Mercedes fell out along the way.
Each track on their new album is distinctly different yet all share the common theme of a tropical dream in space. From 2010 to 2011, the band tracked in San Francisco Bay, a cabin in Echo Park, and under the stars of the Palm Desert at night, giving the album a distinctly magical West Coast glow. Aloha Moon was produced by Sep V, John Morrical, and Magic Wands.
The first song and title track, introduces us to their hazy and blissful world, as Dexy whispers to us from some faraway beach to join her. Next, the gorgeous "Teenage Love" paints a new love on a starlit boardwalk in the form of a psychedelic pop song.
"Kaleidoscope Hearts" takes us on a journey, following love down to an astral ocean while the glittering "Crystals" moonwalks next to MJ while The Cure join in with guitars electrifying their hair in the desert wind. "Black Magic," the band's ode to freedom, asks the question "How can anybody feel the same" while instantly giving the answer of "Bla-a-a-ck" followed by a UFO-sized guitar riff.
Not far is the sweaty jungle of desire, "Warrior," which features a heavy tribal stomp, while the blissed out "Treasure" takes us back into the ethereal world for another mystical trip through the stars.
The record dances into the darkness for the galloping psychedelia of "Wolves," while "Kiss Me Dead" sails the waters of a new romance. The album's epic closer, "Space," warps into a euphoric dimension where rules are hard to come by and love is center stage, Dexy's vocals reaching out of the speakers and wrapping around the listener for the final climax.
2012 promises the release of Aloha Moon worldwide via Bright Antenna Records as well as more tours of the US and abroad with a full live band. Aloha Moon is ten songs of pop sophistication filled with imagination, fantasy and so much galactic innovation, it’s almost otherworldly. (less)
