LA / LBC / OC
Long Beach’s Magic Lantern have finally gone and released a new sonic document after what seemed like an eternity of waiting. Eagerly anticipated by those who have been biding their time waiting for the band to get on with their uber limited cassette only and CD-R releases (their Self-Titled CD-R was limited to 30), “High Beams”, the band’s latest opus [...]
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As all music lovers should be, I really enjoy being proved wrong by a band. With their new release, Chautauqua, The Willowz have done just that.
The year was 2005 and the band had just released Talk in Circles. I caught them at an in-store performance at Amoeba here in Hollyweird, and without going into specific negatives I’ll just say that until Chautauqua crossed my path, I had not given the band a second thought. This new album (out on Dim Mak Records) really finds the band taking more risks and puts them where I think they strived to be on previous releases but fell short of.
From uptempo chunky fuzz-tones on “Take A Look Around” and “Waiting To Fall”, to acoustic country jams such as “Jubilee” and Once In A While” the blend is just right. This album really runs the gambit of pre-metal rock; think Blue Cheer, early Zeppelin and even the first Sabbath record. In this same spirit, Chautauqua even has the prodigal epic ballad in “Evil Son” that fills out this rock-journey arc.