• Artist: Piano Magic
• Rating:
• Styles: Indie Electronic, Ambient Pop, Post-Rock/Experimental

Review

Hunting down old girlfriends or treasured childhood television shows can seem like a good idea at the time, but bands like Piano Magic recognize that after the initial warmth of nostalgia washes away, most memories are best left fantasized about. With a formula that perks curiosity -- artless experimentation, revolving band-members, using old-tech toys in new-tech situations -- Popular Mechanics is less about what kind of music you really listened to as a kid and more about what you remember what you listened to. "Revolving Moth Cage" takes a painlessly childish keyboard melody and inserts it into a complex canvas of ambient trickery while the friendly Eraserhead interpretations on "Birth of an Object" are just on the right side of despondent, electronic reinvention. The self-proclaimed Kraftwerk and drum 'n' bass influences are disguised as well: to be sure, there's a certain antique thrust to the badly-spoken word "Wrong French" or a Kid 606-like junkyard scream to the "Metal Coffee" red herring, but it's how mainman Glen Johnson strives to "aim for the heart" that really makes the album worthwhile. This is splayed out Krautrock dub with a newly found sense of compassion. Much like the reconstructionist vibe of comic book writer Kurt Busiek, Piano Magic seem intent in rediscovering a childhood that never existed, reexamining those memories that never happened -- all with an innovative, electronic zeal that would make most any fellow auteur flush with admiration. ~ Dean Carlson, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	iTunes	Composers	Performers	Time
Metal Coffee		Martin Cooper	Piano Magic	(1:29)
Wintersport/Cross-Country	...	Glen Johnson, Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(8:34)
Everything Works Beautifully		Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(2:27)
(0.53)	...	Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(:54)
Amongst Russian Lathes and Metal Curls	...	Glen Johnson, Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(4:09)
Birth of an Object		Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(2:16)
Revolving Moth Cage		Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(4:06)
To Be Swished/Dream of the Ups Driver		Glen Johnson, Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(9:02)
Freckled Robot		Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(2:53)
Soft Magnets		Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(5:01)
Wrong French		Glen Johnson, Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(5:36)
You've Lost Your Footing in This World		Piano Magic	Piano Magic	(4:33)

Credits

Martin Cooper (Sounds), Glen Johnson (Sounds), Piano Magic (Producer), Piano Magic (Main Performer), Hazel Burfitt (Vocals), Raechel Leigh (Vocals), Dominic Chennell (Photography), Dominic Chennell (Sounds), Paul Tornbohm (Sounds), Dirk Rance (Sounds), David Griffiths (Sounds)

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