Roger Guillemin & Le Corbeau: Father and Son
If I had to bet on which local band was going to catch some serious buzz this year, I'd put my money on Mrs. Magician.
Mind you, I've yet to hear their forthcoming album, Strange Heaven, which comes out via Swami Records on April 17. (A digital release comes out on March 6.) But I've seen them a few times and I dig their gritty, infectious surf-rock. It's not hard to imagine indie kids freaking over a SoCal-tastic track like "The Spells," the A-side of a 7-inch released on Loud + Clear Records last year. Just listen to this thing:
However, my reasoning is based less on the music and more on sheer hype. Their drummer is Napoleonic scene-maker Cory Stier. In March, Mrs. Magician is going on tour with indie-rock darlings Cults, who've already given Writer a helpful push forward (they play at Belly Up on March 21). They'll also play four West Coast dates with the legendary Hot Snakes, including a sold-out show at The Casbah on Tuesday, March 27.
Mrs. Magician has an unabashed fan in John "Swami" Reis. The esteemed San Diego rocker who produced the album runs Swami Records and, until recently, hosted Swami Sound System on FM 94/9. If you ever listened to his show, you know that the Swami's taste in music is unimpeachable.
"I’m really, really, really in love with the band and the record and I can’t wait for people to hear it and to share it with other people and see what the response is," Reis told me during an interview last month (the quotes weren't included in the published version). "I feel like it might be one of those times—one of those very, very rare occasions—when my tastes intersect with the tastes of people who might like a little bit more current music that’s happening right now."Of course, it's always best to err on the side of Flavor Flav, who wisely said, "Don't believe the hype." Until I give Strange Heaven a few listens, I won't know what to believe. But I've got a good feeling about these guys. They might just end up on Pitchfork soon enough.
