MAGIC DANCE

Remnants

The New York act named Magic Dance recently released this eleven-track offering via Frontiers Records and as with previous releases by the skilled multi-instrumentalist that is Jon Siejka, we are treated to synth-heavy melodic rock inspired by the 80s electronic and synthwave scenes. The whole effort is well-produced and sounds crisp and pristine while still packing a punch and displaying a sense of fist-pumping bombast, but I must admit that I found ”Remnants” to be quite disappointing in that it lacks those huge, sweeping tunes that truly manage to take you either back in time or to some wonderfully surreal universe, which is perhaps another way of saying that the majority of these compositions lack staying power and are neither as infectiously catchy or hook-laden as they could have been.

The musicianship is good and it is not as if Mr. Siejka cannot craft a strong melody because he most certainly can, which is evidenced by the driven yet melancholic album opener ”Oh No”, but this time around I am not sucked into his retrowave world of wild synth rock and that is a big letdown. Magic Dance is undoubtedly a talented outfit but the song material leaves something to be desired and is neither particularly noteworthy nor the neon-lit delight that I was hoping for.

Magic Dance (bandcamp.com)

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