Review: Piano Magic, Son de Mar & Seasonally Affective
Two concurrent releases by Glen Johnson's Piano Magic, both largely consisting of previously available material, and released on separate lables. Seasonally Affective, a Rocketgirl compilation of the majority of PM's single, EP, and complation appearances, gives the uninitiated a comprehensive view of the broad range of styles the band has touched on in its ten year path to the 4ad label. Son de Mar presents new instrumentals alongside recontextualized music from A Trick of the Sea. Both albums are leagues beyond Artists' Rifles.

If Seasonally Affective proves one thing, it's that Glen Johnson has spent the entirety of his music career with an eye toward winding up on 4AD. As albums go, Seasonally Affective can be a jarring listen, sequenced chronologically rather than with an ear toward continued mood. This means that an experimental pieces like "Industrial Cutie" are followed by ethereal pop dazzlers like "I am the Sub Librarian," which might have novices wondering if they're listening to the same band. Of course they aren't; until recently Johnson has maintained a revolving door of musicians and vocalists on his releases which has kept the body of Piano Magic work fresh. Much of the work on Seasonally Affective is of very high quality; Johnson seems to produce much of his most potent music when constrained to 7 inches of plastic. Some of the early Che tracks (available on the now out of print Popular Mechanics) sometimes fall prey to their own preciousness (mainly due to Rachel Leigh's horrorshow dolly vocal delivery) but are a nice counterpoint to much of the remaining material. "For Engineers A" chugs along like a lost Kraftwerk demo. The tracks from the Fun of the Century ep are less electronic, have more sonic weight, and allow Jen Adams and Caroline Potter the chance to give a more assured and less creepy voice to the band. The second disc includes both the best and worst of what Piano Magic has to offer: the full contents of the amazing Music for Annahbird ep, computer and keyboard pieces composed and played by Johnson alone; the impossible to find Amongst the Books An Angel single, which in mood recalls early Felt; "There's No Need For Us To Be Alone," a pop gem elevated above the usual Piano Magic seriousness by Darren (Hefner) Heyman's brilliant lyrics and vocals; and "French Mittens," propelled by mechanical churning keyboards that effectively conjure the feeling of a cold autumn's turn to an oppressive winter. But it also includes "Sketch For Joanne," with an unenlightening break-up lyric, and the dire "The Canadian Brought us Snow," which features the sort of lyrics about being in a band that threaten to make Piano Magic come across as the most self-absorbed act in recent memory (this same subjects dragged their recent "I Came to Your Party Dressed as a Shadow" single into tedium). The good outweighs the bad here by a wide margin, though, and is essential for anyone interested in the band who has not already hunted down their best EPs.

It's perhaps inevitable that with 4AD's decline over the past decade (curiously dropping some of the best on its roster while adding its share of questionable talent), that someone at Alma Road would finally take notice and sign Johnson. If Piano Magic are going to save the respectability of 4AD, Son de Mar--the soundtrack to a film still unseen outside of Spain--is a strong start. Forty minutes of gorgeous instrumental work linked by the tranquil sound of lapping waves, the centerpiece is a re-edit of the Darla Bliss Out track A Trick of the Sea, with a repeated guitar line played by Charles Wyatt that Johnson likes so much, he's used it at least three times. While the piece is a few years old, it segues into the new work so well (most featuring James Topham's haunting viola carrying the melody) that the sustained mood of the entire album works as composition in ways that few film scores ever do. Exceptional.

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