Gross Magic - Teen Jamz EP

Who would have thought that the most eagerly anticipated debut release of 2011 would be an EP of 5 glam-tinged and ultra-scuzzy slices of pop made by a bored Brighton-dwelling 20 year old? Teen Jamz is that release. Clocking in at just 18 minutes, the songs are powered by the weirdo energy that musicians who have been labelled slackers by the press have been drawing from for years. Every track is a showcase for main man Sam Mcarrigle’s skills as a songwriter and purveyor of simply enormous riffs. The problem that arises across the EP is it’s sincerity. Though Mcarrigle is clearly in thrall of Bowie and Bolan, his references to their sound can come off as lazy, each riff undistinguishable from the last. No new ground is ever broken. 

Mcarrigle’s voice is also likely to divide opinion, a dog-botheringly high pitched wail that permeates every moment of the record. And therein lies the problem at the heart of  Gross Magic; the wanton lack of fucks being given is an obvious aesthetic choice, adding heaps to their already established slacker image, but it drains the EP of any real warmth, leaving only artificial joy. One would hope that the obvious talent at work could be better utilised, maybe Gross Magic should go back to their beloved bedrooms and come out when they’ve written something that really demands our attention.


5/10

By Ned Powley

Band to look out for #9

Gross Magic



It's becoming more and more difficult to achieve a totally unique style in music nowadays. This has seen the development of many scenes over recent years less about looking to the future, but instead harking back to and reviving past music scenes. Gross Magic, the solo project of former ' Hocus Tocus' member Sam McGarrigle runs on nostalgia, he slots into the lo-fi glam-rock revival label quite comfortably alongside the similary hazy Ariel Pink and the recently scuzz-free Smith Westerns.

Gross Magic creates the kind of slacker-pop you'd expect from someone only recently out of adolescence. His music is lazy and woozy on the one hand, but equally it showcases an ambituous young man writing some phenomenally grandiose pop songs, channeling the spirit of Marc Bolan at his most flamboyant '20th century boy' peak. While comparing Gross Magic to the T. Rex frontman may seem a bit presumptuous, he certainly has the right framework in place, most notably with the song 'Sweetest Touch' in which Sam's slightly frail almost feminine voice recounts the tale of being desperately infatuated with a girl in the most hopeless way. "Still cant believe she knows my name" Sam wonders, over an infectious squealing glam guitar riff and crashing drums.  The rest of Gross Magic's debut EP 'Teen Jamz' is similary lovelorn and impressively accomplished, 'Cant ignore my heart' also permeates deeply, this time with added synth twiddling and yet more distinctly teenage confessional lyricisms. All in all, not bad for a kid from Brighton armed with nothing but kick-ass musical influences and a DIY laptop knowhow.

EP 'Teen Jamz' is available for purchase from thesoundsofsweetnothing.bandcamp.com

By Toby McCarron