Magnet School

Who the hell are Magnet School and where have they been all our life? This will be the question after you’ve heard the MS record; it's THAT GOOD. Once in awhile a debut comes along that you just want to shout about from the top of the hills, give to all your friends, hear all the time and basically just can’t get enough of. 'Tonight We Drink... Tomorrow We Battle the Evil at Hand' is such a record.

The answer to your burning question is that they have been in rehearsal for essentially three years – or at least have been a band since '04 without having a release – which goes some way towards explaining how they have emerged fully formed, toting a killer sound and an utterly faultless record. They are from Austin, that bastion of quality music, and it’s damn near impossible to find out what these four guys were doing before this group. But really it doesn’t matter, as the music is so steeped in its influences we can at least tell what they have been listening to.

Not to say that Magnet School are copyists by any means – more than anything they use instantly recognisable elements of great rock music in creating their own marvellous sound. The first touchstone, evident from the record opening, is the layer upon swirly layer of guitar of the shoegazing likes of Swervedriver. However they combine the dreamy guitars with the pop sensibilities of Foo Fighters – their masterful knack for songwriting such that you get tingles with the opening of ‘Colettalicious’, a blinding track that also displays their penchant for quirky melody that hasn’t been attempted since the demise of Failure.

‘Seventensplit’ is a feast of feedback and driving melody, perhaps nailing the kind of beautiful ugliness that …Trail Of Dead have never quite succeeded in doing. ‘Angeldust’ is the shining jewel in the mix, the most blatantly poppy track it succeeds where few do – namely Dave Grohl – in being a relentlessly and beautifully catchy track that nevertheless you won’t get sick of. It has single written all over it.

Who’s to say whether Magnet School will get their dues? Lord knows they deserve it, as we do not exaggerate when we say they have made a record equal to the best of all of their aforementioned contemporaries. Seriously.

The odds are against them – they have no image to speak of, are being released on an obscure indie record label and their rather average name doesn’t help. Still, what with this year’s return of My Bloody Valentine and Jesus and Mary Chain and fine recent releases from A Place To Bury Your Dead, Asobi Seksu and Film School heralding claims of a shoegaze revival maybe, just maybe, Magnet School will get swept in with the tide. All we can say is go forth and spread the word – good music will find a way.