Magnetic North

Aqualung | Format: MP3 Download

Product Details

• Original Release Date: April 20, 2010
• Release Date: April 20, 2010
• Label: Verve Forecast
• Copyright: (C) 2010 Matt Hales
• Record Company Required Metadata: Music file contains unique purchase identifier. Learn more.
• Total Length: 48:28
• Genres:
• ASIN: B003GGMM6A
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #24,763 Paid in MP3 Albums (See Top 100 Paid in MP3 Albums)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnetic Music from Aqualung/Matt Hales, April 22, 2010

By 

Diego Rodrigues (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Magnetic North (Audio CD)

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
- Alan Cohen

Aqualung is Back !
Either you are a diehard fan of Matt and his "sad/poignant lyricism" or a new listener it is nearly impossible to ignore his latest record.

"New Friend" and "Fingertip" echoes the Britt Invasion's grooved-goofiness of falling in love - these songs makes you want to dance, laugh, and hopefully think beyond its guilt-free appeal.

"Sundowning" is that classic Aqualung tale of lost love with a string of hope hidden in every verse. This is a haunting, straightforward song that might translate into words that familiar feeling so many times unspoken of. The music is beautiful and the harmonic choices are the highlights of the album.

I was surely surprised with "Hummingbird"- it resonance previous songs and yet have an adventurous quality to it that showcases Matt's growth as a musician and songwriter.

"Lost" and "Magnetic North" deserves a special mention. I personally admire Aqualung's ability to balance earnest poetry and realistic observations of the fragility of love - these songs are Masterpieces by any account. Aqualung "stays true" to his craft and to his fans; this two songs alone are worth buying the Album, listening again and again, and showing it to friends/lovers as a statement of what real music should sound like.

"Time Moves Slow" has a Bossa Nova facet that caught me off guard (I am Brazilian) - it made me think of "Samba de Uma Nota Só"; simple yet quite amusing. This song makes a great argument for refined and intimate music versus the grandiose noise most radios play these days.

Much has been said about "Remember Us" (thanks to Grey's Anatomy) and all I can say is that if you had the "privilege" of loving and have your heart broken you will appreciate this great reframe - melancholy aside.

Magnetic North sounds as a compilation of Matt's greatest songs and yet is a fresh and original product that stays true to honest and intelligent songwriting from beginning to end. Matt was truly adventurous and the result is a great album that won't disappoint Aqualung's followers and will hopefully gather the deserved attention and appreciation from new fans.

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Moves Slow Moves Me, January 9, 2012

By 

Gayle (San Diego, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Magnetic North (MP3 Download)

Time Moves Slow is my musical equivalent to falling in love: I haven't even listened to the other songs on this album, because for some reason, this song hit me: first I was charmed, then obsessed. All I do is think of this song and hear this song in my head all day and can't wait til the next time I can listen to it. I played it one evening as part of my ipod cooking playlist and woke with it playing in my head the next morning. This doesn't happen often, and when it does, it's awesome: falling in love with a particular arrangement of voice, words, and music. The voice is just rough enough around the edges to not be perfect and boring. The emotional energy comes indirectly and therefore more powerfully. The piano is a galloping series of chords that belie the Time Moving Slow theme. Don't know exactly what kind of archetypal energy this composition cracked into: the traveler in me, the eternal hapless seeker, I don't know. I love the idea of resting my bones and needing only the great unknown. It's sad and lonesome without being sad and lonely, maybe because of the hopeful upbeat. It's usually only one or two songs per band in a blue that I get this strong connection, so one song on an entire album merits the album, in my book. Nicely done, Aqualung.

2.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing album, August 29, 2011

By 

Paul Allaer (Cincinnati) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Magnetic North (Audio CD)

I've been a huge fan of Matt Hales a/k/a Aqualung for many years, and I thought that he was poised for a major commercial breakthrough with the 2007 album "Memory Man", which sounded epic on many levels, and made me think this could be the next Coldplay-like breakthrough. Alas, for whatever reason it didn't happen. Not sure what that did to Matt Hales, but since then, things have not gone quite the way I expected.

First there was the curious 2008 "Words & Music" release, which brought some previously released songs in a new setting, along with 3 or 4 new songs, but which left me scratching my head. Then in early 2010 cames this release "Magnetic North", which I didn't even bother to review at the time, just to give you an idea of my disappointment. For whatever reason, I was strolling around Amazon and came upon this, so now I can simply tell you that "Magnetic North" is flat from start to finish, not a single memorable song on the entire album. What has happened to Matt Hales?

I have no idea where Aqualung will go from here, if anywhere (I'm not holding up much hopes). That said, the band toured the US quite heavily in the 2006-2007 years, including in the often-forgotten (by UK acts) Midwest here, and I saw them a couple of times. Since then, pretty much no opportunity to see them live, which I would love to, even though I was disappointed with this album. But really, if you like Aqualung, stick to the earlier albums, none more so than "Memory Man", which is a classic in my opinion.