PHILLIP THE EGG

Magic Bus' new album 'Phillip the Egg' starts with 'Mystical Mountain', a jaunty, infectious tune with a lovely burbling guitar sound, that bridges the gap between this offering and 2014s 'Sogmore'. However, the second (instrumental) part of the track heads us into a jazzier, spacier direction that gives a good indication of where the band seem to be progressing. There is great interplay between Darlington's impressive keyboard work and Waldstadt's nimble guitar. After the frenetic final section of Mystical Mountain, Fading Light comes as a period of blissful, pastoral calm. Trail to Canaa, to my ear, seems to combine an almost folky 'feel' with a chunkier keyboard sound, not unlike that used by some of the classic 70's Italian bands. Zeta and Distant Future possess almost 'Gong-like' riffs but are augmented by beautiful vocal harmonies. At the stage of writing, Kepler 22b is the standout track. It is, to my mind, the most 'progressive' track on the album and combines everything I love about Magic Bus. The band are fantastic musicians and this track showcases their talents from Mellorz' agile bass runs to Darlington's beautifully layered keyboard sounds, via Waldstadt's flawless guitar work and Goodwin-Darke's lovely flute figures. Paul Evans vocals are distinctive and beguiling and perfectly match his musical and lyrical vision. 'Phillip the Egg' is an outstanding album: brilliantly balanced, superbly recorded and musically rich. Put simply, it is the best album I have listened to in the last ten years and represents, for Magic Bus, a big step forward from their previous (excellent) albums.

Music, like all the Arts, is a reaction to and against what has gone before and it would be easy to simply compare the band to artists such as Gong and Hatfield and the North. There are obvious influences, but the band combine brilliantly to bring something fresh, vivid, new and exciting to the table. (4.5 stars)

Phil Dudman