Customer Reviews

White Magic for Lovers

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This album seems a world away from their debut (isn't it available anymore? Crying shame, that). The dark, brooding feel of the first outing barely made it onto this album, although it definitely creeps in. White Magic has a more outright rock feel, less obsessive gloominess, and well...diversity. The first track--a wonderful ode to losers like you-- starts off kind of rough, but soon a very earnest latin horn section turns it into a shout-along anthem. Song For Pessoa is exactly that, and its a soothing, sparse guitar lullaby that ends in a (Portuguese?) recitation. Very nice. Drum-machine confined I Don't Wanna Be Here Without You is probably the lightest moment, and if you are familiar with Monteiro's lyrics, you know its the quirky instrumentation that makes it so! Mondo Cane proves they've got rock swagger, as if you had reason to doubt. Typically, they use cello in several songs, and it always sounds perfect. That's one of the reasons I liked their debut so much. Monteiro reveals a softer, sweeter side to her voice on this album, too. It is a change of pace, so fans of earlier stuff may need a while to get used to it, but newcomers have nothing not to like. I mean, Thom Yorke's on the album, COULD it be bad? Still Drugstore, still great. No--they've gotten better. Here's hoping I don't have to wait so long for the next one.

I wasn't coming here to write a review, but after seeing the low ratings, I had to even things out. I was listening to this CD today, and was sad to see it was almost 10 years old, and nothing much came of the group. I just think this is a beautiful album with very few, if any, weak spots. It's a really original and creative work of music, but I guess people don't get anything without screaming vocals and distorted guitars.

I really enjoyed Drugstore's first album and this one has been a long time coming. But it is a great follow-up album, and shows that the band does have enough of what it takes to be around for a long time. The music has power and meaning, and the single with Thom Yorke of Radiohead is different than most "radio rock" garbage out there. This is a really good album.

Like a lot of people probably, I got this album for "el president", a memorable duet between lead singer Isabel and guest vocalist Thom Yorke of Radiohead, with ominous latin flavored string instrumental sections that perfectly accentuate the eerie assasination related lyrics. None of the other tracks here grab me quite as much as that one, but for the most part there's lots of pretty melodies being sung in Isabel's oft-mentioned gorgeously raspy voice.

It's pretty fitting that Yorke shows up here actually, because there are a handful of tracks that sound like a female-fronted version of Bends-era Radiohead (in particular "Sober"). However, most of the album consists of slower tracks where Mazzy Star are a more obvious touchstone, particularly with Isabel's vocal style and the cello as a frequent instrument. Sometimes such songs can be too lethargic, but frequently they're beautiful (especially "I Know I Could" and "Song For Pessoa"). The louder tracks break this up decently enough, although the most rocking song, "mondo cane" seems a bit forced and generic despite a beautiful chorus. And for a little more variety, there's a Matthew Sweet-like power-pop song with male vocals via the guitarist ("Never Come Down"), the mariachi band that shows up in the middle of of "Say Hello", the best 90's loungepop song ever not written by The Cardigans ("I Don't Want To Be Here Without You"), and the loopy carousel waltz closer "Funeral". Overall there's nothing amazing here, but it's a good listen.

Like the summary says, her sexy voice is the albums shining spot and sounds great with Thom Yorke. The best thing that came from this album for me is a newfound respect for Thom Yorke and Radiohead and I do truly love El President. The rest of the album is too repetitive and gets a little tedious, it is starting to grow on me though.

While the lyrics are unique and dreamy, the sound is repetitive in many the songs on White Magic For Lovers.

Drugstore needs to expand on their sound and change pace to keep me interested.

I bought this because I liked the song "El President" which I had seen on M2. I knew nothing of the band or song (not even the Radiohead connection). I still like "El President". I think the ethereal laments punctuated by Spanish flamenco style guitars works well.

However the rest of the album is pretty lackluster. "I Know I Could" has some moments of interest for me, and "White Magic for Lovers" has a moody aura, but other than that the CD gets pretty standard.

What is interesting to me is that many of the songs sound a *lot* like "My Bloody Valentine" gone pop. I really liked MBV's "Loveless" album because of it's wall-of-noise and very non-pop sound. Cleaning up that sound for the mainstream takes out the most interesting aspects, which is how I see many of the songs on "White Magic for Lovers".

Since it has some sparks of originality, I gave it a 2 instead of a 1.