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Death of the Live Stream: To celebrate the release of our album, we’re going to be taking phone calls from you- yes, you the viewer, for seven hours straight! We’ll be live streaming the entire thing and we’ll be joined by some very special guests who will help us take your calls and sell some records. There’ll be karaoke, there’ll be laughs, there’ll be albums sold. Join us on YouTube and Facebook live Wednesday 2nd September. Poster by @elbekoelbe

A post shared by The Magic Gang (@themagicgang) on Aug 25, 2020 at 8:01am PDT

The retro visuals on this announcement reflect the band’s nostalgic sound and appearance. Its members are invariably found dressed in loose fitting shirts or stripy 90’s style T-shirts. The music too, harkens back to another era. In 2015 they released a double-single No Fun/ Alright that earned them a spot supporting Wolf Alice and attracted the attention of music publications such as the EDGE.

The double-single was reminiscent of bands like The Mystery Jets and The Pigeon Detectives during the 2007-8 period. Since then, their self-titled first album was released in 2018 and met with positive reviews. The musicality was certainly impressive, but despite the album containing 16 tracks, it is fair to say there was not much variation between them.

Death of the Party on the other hand is far more diverse. Go Moving is discordant and experimental, with Kris Smith shouting down the mic: when the lights come up and the music stops. (The World) Outside my Door is a thoughtful vocal led ballad. The layered guitar and piano make way for a choir-like chorus singing First thing in the morning I’m gonna make a change.

The music video for this tune shows Jack Kaye lying in bed glumly as well as an interesting shot of him singing into the water of a bathroom sink. Viewers commented that the song and visuals imply a subject who is attempting to get over an ‘addiction’ and knows that he needs to make a change. It is true that the narrative of the album does conjure feelings of one late night too many and the emptiness that is left when the lights come up and the music stops. 

This stands in direct contrast to the bands first album, which evoked memories of teenage days spent by the sea and first loves. On I’ll Show You, Kris Smith sings over rhythmic piano: …I’ll show you my world// ‘Cause you’re more than just any other girl. This romantic sentiment is followed by the words Early hours, leave the place// On the beach we’re soaked in rain// Talk about the things we hate.

The Magic Gang’s music is so appealing because it gives us an insight into their world. But it seems as though their world has changed and not everything is as rosy as it was before. Death of the Party shows the band shedding some of their optimism, and it actually turns out far more interesting as a result.