"Christine" - Magic and Fur

I am a little bit uneasy about an official hiatus from the blog during my holiday, so I have resolved to dip into my review stack, which has climbed to a unstable height. I realize a lot of these bands and records are not as new as they once were, but this sort of situation is a perfect time to explore the unknown.

Magic and Fur are from Bradford, as far as I can tell. For those of you unfamiliar, this is a very nasty place in the North of England, near Leeds. Apart from Emily Bronte and the guy who opened my favorite pub in Houston, TX (The Red Lion), Magic and Fur are only the third good thing the town can boast (unless you count the birth of England's last hangman). In May, they released a single called "Christine" as part of the Too Pure Singles Club. If you have ever said "Holy crap I miss the days of Rough Trade and The Veils," then I think I have some good news for you.

"Christine" is a great love song that's catchy and that grows in my estimations the more I listen. Love songs aren't exactly rife at the moment; one isn't tripping over them. Magic & Fur have allowed me to indulge my insatiable brit-pop appetite without having to go way back in the stacks. It is too soon to call them "retro" - perhaps it is a re-birth. Add to that the fact that the tracks on MySpace that are unreleased are just as great, and you have cause to cheer. "Us" sounds like it could be a lost Go-Betweens record, while "Endgame" shows a competent downshift into a more solemn gear. All of it is tip-top, and the gents from the band have been working on even more tracks, which they are about to give away via their various on-line locales. Be sure to grab "Do Not Toll The Bell" (below) a little bit early.

The Too Pure Singles Club deserves a bit of press as well. It's basically a monthly unreleased 7 inch single from a different great unsigned band delivered right to your door for only 40 GBP per year! Finally, someone has the balls to taste-make again. We have all heard subscription schemes are gonna save all the folks in the Record Biz. I personally couldn't care less about them - let us just save the taste-makers! I am gonna join it as soon as payday comes, because it is only 45 GBP if you live outside the UK! That's half what I paid for my copy of the mega-deluxe IN RAINBOWS with 12 inch vinyl, cd, dvd, and a sample of Thom Yorke's peeled skin from his 2007 Benidorm holiday. If you are a friend of mine, then get ready to receive this for your birthday.

Here's the video for "Christine:"



"Do Not Toll The Bell" by Magic & Fur download mp3 (with permission)

Buy Magic and Fur's Records!!
Join the Too Pure Singles Club!!