''Here We Go Magic'' is the eponymous 2009 debut album from Brooklyn-based

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band

Here We Go Magic Here We Go Magic is an American indie rock band based in Brooklyn, New York. It was formed by core members Luke Temple, Michael Bloch and Peter Hale, in late 2008. The band signed to Western Vinyl in 2008, followed by the five-piece group's signi ...

, recorded mostly by the band's lead singer

Luke Temple Luke Temple, also known under the alias Art Feynman, is an American singer-songwriter. He records under his own name and with New York-based band Here We Go Magic. Temple was born in Salem, Massachusetts. After spending time in Northern Calif ...

Background and recording

The album was recorded by Temple at home on a 4-track recorder over a two-month period. Temple described the recording: "I just had one tom, one microphone, a synth and an acoustic guitar. I didn’t have a full drum kit or normal bass, it was just all synth stuff that I did myself."ATH Interviews: Here We Go Magic
, austintownhall.com, June 18, 2009, retrieved 2010-05-02

Critical reception

Tim DiGravina, writing for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, gave the album a 3.5/5 rating, saying "There's a lot to admire in Here We Go Magic's dreamy, hazy melodies, and it's easy to get lost in the repetitive, minimalist guitar strumming that centers half of the tracks". Brian Gearing of ''Glide'', gave it a four-star rating, calling it "hypnotic from the opening notes to the closing silence", and stating that it "doesn’t just sound awesome; it compels you to listen". The ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

''s Rob Webb was also impressed, giving the album 7/10. Eric Harvey of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

described the album as "hazy electronic textures, endlessly-spiraling lyrical loops, occasional forays into extended sections of ambience and noise", giving the album 7.4 out of 10. Alex Denney, writing for

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

, wrote "There isn't a duff moment on ...Magic exactly, but it's the opening salvo, with its lingering impression of small ideas stretched gauzily out, that really sings like firing synapses and leaves you wanting more". Barry Walters of ''

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...

'' gave it 7/10, calling it "Magic indeed".

Track listing

#"Only Pieces" (3:50) #"Fangela" (5:32) #"Ahab" (3:37) #"Tunnelvision" (4:23) #"Ghost List" (4:23) #"I Just Want to See You Underwater" (4:49) #"Babyohbaby - Ijustcantstanditanymore!" (2:07) #"Nat's Alien" (4:27) #"Everything's Big" (5:28)

References

2009 debut albums Here We Go Magic albums Western Vinyl albums {{2000s-indie-rock-album-stub