Apples in Stereo: New Magnetic Wonder Album Review

Review by Justin Saylor, KPSU Editorial Team

Having been hibernating for a couple of years, Apples in Stereo are back and they sound new, old, familiar, distinct, and robotic. The difference between this latest work, the first album released on Elijah Wood’s Simian Records, and their previous efforts is its cohesiveness. It is organically random and displaced only for the right reasons. We’ve got 24 fresh tracks, 10 of those being less than a minute of play, the interludes don’t chime as a nuisance (can you say Janet Jackson?), but bounce well in the bangs-and-clangs-scheme-of-things theme that New Magnetic Wonder emanates.

Whereas many of my favorite bands are tiring out by attempting to prove maturity in their progression, Apples In Stereo seem to have grown childish in their maturity. And I mean this as the most praising compliment possible. They aren’t doing ballads, and they aren’t pumping out serious statements; they are belting out pop-infused shout-outs that get stuck in the part of your head that makes you want to hum. Not only are the lyrics and voices more addicting than their previous efforts combined, the music is filled to capacity with synthesizers, pianos, strings, and choir backups.

There is a stretch of musical bliss on New Magnetic Wonder, falling in between “Energy” and “Sunndal Song” that I’ve yet to decipher, resulting in me repeating and relistening. “Energy” plays into their cliche free spirit and is over-the-top, sounding like a Coca Cola commercial at its height, cooly swaying into “Same Old Drag” with a Scissor Sisters-esque piano intro, until it blinks breath with a downbeat of a Charlie’s Angel theme song. Cue the catchy chorus and the synthesized ELO-inspired backup vocals, then switch over to a bridge that is so catchy, it will have you doing “The Carlton", circa Fresh Prince of Bel Air, in your underwear, running around your house. Results may vary, of course.

The gem of the album is a 46-second snippet entitled, “Joanie Don’t U Worry,” which epitomizes the tribute to generations past and a rebirth forward. Fearful of falling into annoying or ineffective, I admire their decision to clip it to a mere sliver of the album. Playing anchor to this line of holy music madness is “Sunndal Song,” with Hilarie Sidnie’s tinny and golden voice positioning the climax of New Magnetic Wonder, leaving 15 more tracks that mirror the strength of the first nine.

It’s an impressive feat they’ve accomplished by pounding out 70’s disco with 80’s Electric Light Orchestra undertones, mixed with the sappy, indie-happy glue that forms and holds together familiar sounds of today, such as Architecture in Helsinki or Of Montreal. The underlying difference is that I’ve grown to expect more from them all as they’ve progressed, but have denounced the other two as strong efforts that left me satisfied but unimpressed. Apples in Stereo always playing backburner, with two strong voices and quirky, if not originally mimicked, methods of tackling their listener to listen, love and adore their style. They set the bar early on for what I hope to be a music-gasm filled 2007. I’m impressed that they’re from Denver and play like they’re Canadian, I’m impressed that they are wise enough to not sell out and grow cocky even when they know they’ve got the skills to do so, and I’m impressed that they’ve been together for as long as they have and managed to jump up to a new level of standards and quality. Just another respectable service Apples In Stereo provides for their listening audience.