Slow Magic - AWAY EP

Slow Magic
AWAY EP
2018
Spotify

I've been really up and down on Slow Magic since his debut record was released. He blew me away at a show, then when I brought a group of friends to see him again it was underwhelming as all hell. This new EP delivered just in time for his appearance at Coachella this year doesn't feel make or break, but it does feel like work needs to be done to push this album forward. His style became to generic at points, to predictable, but I'm happy to say on AWAY it appears that Slow Magic has rediscovered his swag. His album from last year Float felt like it was to preoccupied with capturing some super specific moment in time. IN the past He had discussed wanted to portray Iceland and re-imagine the time He spent touring their through music, but god damn did it fall flat. This album however doesn't mess with that sort of heady business and instead uses his fantastic percussion as a basis for vibrant and big dance tracks. This is the Slow Magic we fell in love with in the first place, the colorful, eccentric glitchy masked man. Dare I say Slow Magic has caught himself a slight disco bug? "HOLD ON" feels like maybe he has but it worms and wiggles it's way through a barrage of percussive beats. One of the things I loved about Slow Magic is how he used his vocals as yet another percussive element and on this record He's brought it to a whole other level. Instead of over analyzing or trying to hard He captures a spirit of bold tones. The stand up piano on "HOLD ON" also grounds it in this really authentic way giving you this warm feeling all over.

Toulouse's vocal on "GO" feels a bit unnecessary but doesn't take away and actually gives the songs different dynamic that otherwise would have made it too similar to the rest of the record. "SUN" is the real standout here, in a group of pretty damn good songs. The whole piece though has this inspired feel to it, you can tell nothing of this was forced like the last album and it just sort of flows out of him. His live show can be a bit annoying because it seems like it follows a similar pattern throughout, but with these kind of soaring songs it's going to give him a whole other dimension and not constrain him to hitting a drum and pressing play on a laptop. I selfishly am extremely happy this album cooks, I like Slow Magic and want his shit to bang, that's why Float was such a bummer. Rest assured my friends, Slow Magic is back and He might just be better than ever.

8.5 out of 10