One of the best shows I saw in 2009 was the Grizzly Bear gig at the 9:30 Club in June of last year. But not because of the headliners—because of the openers. Here We Go Magic were unknown to me then, but their technicolor, tripped-out forays into space pop really blew me away that night. The band didn’t stay under the radar for long; Pitchfork and others bestowed glowing reviews on their self-titled album, an opening slot on a tour with the Walkmen followed as did a record deal with Secretly Canadian Records.
Pigeons, their forthcoming album, is due out in June and the band are currently on tour road testing their new material on their way to SXSW in Austin. You can catch them Saturday at the Rock and Roll Hotel with April Smith & The Great Picture Show and Glass Ghost. Guitarist Micheal Bloch took some time to answer our questions on the new album and trying to get his head around this whole Twitter thing that the kids are doing these days.
1) The advance of the album I received had the artists listed as Luke Temple and the album name as Here We Go Magic. Is it safe to assume that this album started out as a solo thing and evolved into more of a band thing? If so, what brought about that change?
Luke’s solo thing was kind of a band thing billed as a solo thing. Then he made a record that was a solo thing imagined as a band thing, which then became a band thing, and was billed as a band thing. And now we’ve just finished a band record that is a band thing imagined as a band thing and billed as a band thing, and that’s what people at the show on Saturday will see and hear — the band thing. Luke is one of the best songwriters out there, easily. He writes amazing songs that we arrange as a band and it all goes towards being a total band thing. That’s where all the fun is.
2) I actually saw you in concert before I heard the album, and I was struck at the differences between your live sound (big, bright and beautiful) and your recorded sound (lo-fi and somewhat subdued). Is that difference by design or something that came from the band and having more musicians involved in performing the songs?
The album was made very spontaneously and creatively, Luke following his own curiosity and using the tools he had at his disposal, which happened to be a 4-track and a microphone in a bedroom with neighbors. The band plays spontaneously and creatively and follows its own curiosities and enjoyments, and everyone plays the instruments they know how to play and do what they know how to do. Yes, results probably sound different. The spirit is the same.
