From the same soil that produced Passion Pit and Hooray for Earth, Magic Man is the latest rising synth-pop act to emerge from Boston, a city better known for its rock, folk, and classical scenes. The five-piece band’s new album is so sparkling, so crisply produced that you can see why Columbia Records signed Magic Man to release its debut full-length.
“Before the Waves” fits snugly in the realm of euphoric dance rock marked by widescreen melodies, choruses as sticky as cotton candy, and synthesizers that pack a punch the way you’d expect guitars to. The songs, particularly first single “Paris,” unfurl with an emphasis on keeping everything light and airy. Frontman Alex Caplow has a similar sweep in his voice, the kind of majestic croon that suggests it will sound perfect in stadium-size sing-alongs.
The album puts Magic Man in the same league as other electro-leaning pop bands, from St. Lucia to Sir Sly. The comparisons to Passion Pit are also inevitable, especially since Magic Man enlisted Alex Aldi, who has previously worked with Passion Pit (and Holy Ghost!), to produce “Before the Waves.”
ESSENTIAL “Paris”
Magic Man will perform with Panic! At the Disco and Walk the Moon at the Blue Hills Bank Pavilion on Aug. 3.
