''The Magic City'' is the second and final

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

from American

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

Helium Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...

. It was released in 1997 on

Matador Records Matador Records is an independent record label, with a roster of mainly indie rock, but also punk rock, experimental rock, alternative rock, and electronic acts. History Matador was created in 1989 by Chris Lombardi in his New York City apart ...

Production

The album was produced at

Mitch Easter Mitchell Blake Easter (born November 15, 1954) is a musician, songwriter, and record producer. Frequently associated with the jangle pop style of guitar music, he is known as producer of R.E.M.'s early albums from 1981 through 1984, and as frontm ...

's Fidelitorium studio, in North Carolina. It was recorded in six weeks. Its sound was influenced by psychedelic and progressive rock.

Critical reception

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 ...

called the album "a rich, colorful array of sounds ... that blends lo-fi indie-rock with '70s prog rock." ''

Magnet A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, steel, nickel, ...

'' wrote: "The album is a ''Pet Sounds'' chamber-pop-meets-progressive-rock indie masterpiece, created long before any lo-fi-loving cretin would ever admit to loving Yes’ ''Close To The Edge'', Genesis’ ''Nursery Cryme'' or watching Keith Emerson throw daggers into his eight-foot-high synthesizer." ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'', ...

'' praised Timony's "loopy, pensive guitar lines, deceptively offbeat song structures, and quirky vocal style."

Track listing

Personnel

Mary Timony Mary Bozana Timony (born October 17, 1970) is an American independent singer-songwriter, guitarist, keyboardist, and violist. She has been a member of the bands Helium, Autoclave and Wild Flag, and currently fronts Ex Hex. Timony's music is o ...

- Guitar, Vocals,

Chamberlin The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are severa ...

, Keyboards *

Ash Bowie Ashley Hideyo "Ash" Bowie (born c.1968) is an American musician. In 1990, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, he formed the band Polvo (as guitarist and vocalist) along with Dave Brylawski, Steve Popson, and Eddie Watkins. Polvo was influential in t ...

- Bass, Drums *Shawn King Devlin - Drums *

- Guitar, Mandolin, Percussion, Pedal Steel, Vocals (background), Producer, Engineer, Slide Guitar, Mixing *Andrew Emmett - Violin *Ken Wilmot - Trumpet *Chris Stamey - Editing, Pro-Tools

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magic City, The 1997 albums Albums produced by Mitch Easter Helium (band) albums Matador Records albums