Making it their own, these nickel-city settlers abase your ears with abrasive artifice-less proto-punk n roll: nothing but genuine rock appreciation and subtle ingenuity here. With roughly 1 million bands trying to sound like this right now, Magic Shadows comes off as the real deal: there’s no hint of fashion or put-on, it’s genuine poetic aggression and artistic expression. The vocal hooks are infectious without being sweet, and the references to '60s pro to, '70s pure and post, and 07's weird make this relevant and aware while cutting its own exciting swath across a genre full of yawn-inducing imitators and wagon-jumpers. There's well-suited reverb on the vox and catchy melodies to supplicate the new-comers, too, but these aspects have a purpose in the overall sound – they’re not sonic decoration, they're essential, fucking, elements. And they can play! Though the drums remain stable and simple, the sonic layering, guitar phrasing and - what's that - a real guitar solo, show that these dudes care about their craft and aren't trying to do anything, they've already done it. Two great tracks from the burnt out beauty that is Hamilton, ON. Must Grip.