Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Here

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros have always been a band for the summer. Whether it’s their American twang, or their energetic songs which could have come straight from a barn dance but first album ‘Up From Below’ was released perfectly over the 2009 summer with ‘Home’ becoming an anthem. It’s appropriate then, that second album ‘Here’ was released in what was the hottest week of the year in the UK, and it fits as well with the weather as its predecessor did.

‘Here’ feels like a gospel record straight from the depths of southern America, but mixed in with some of the folky earthiness of Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan. The Magnetic Zeros seem to have gone back to their roots on creating this record. ‘Man On Fire’ is a slow opener as finger clicks and harmonies from the Magnetic Zeros set the scene. From then on, highlights include ‘Fiya Wata’ which could be straight off of a 50s compilation record stooped and ‘All Wash Out’ featuring delicate piano behind Alex Ebert’s vocals.

There is nothing on ‘Here’ which comes anywhere near the feel-good factor of ‘Home’ and as a result it becomes an album which doesn’t inspire any sense of wanting to listen to it again. It’s not a bad record by any stretch of the imagination but the songs blur into one so much that you can’t help but wish that Edward Sharpe would just go back to writing songs which you want to dance to.

6.6

Jessy Parker