Careful With Your Magic
Nile River, 2019
8/10
Listen to Careful With Your Magic
The long running Canadian outfit return with a 7th album and first one in over 5 years, as the only constant member Jordon Zadorozny finds plenty of creative and memorable ways to deliver his cautious indie-pop prowess.
“Wild Something” starts the listen with keys amid the soulful, pop influenced setting where orchestral nods are also present, and “Sweet Nothing” follows with a sleek dance-rock appeal as expressive and melodic vocals guide the affair that’s indebted to ‘80s New Wave in all the best ways.
Elsewhere, “Phantom Tongue” is a key driven rocker with a soaring setting of sunny, surf-rock ideas, while “Top Of The Pops” finds a warm place to reside between indie-rock and pop-rock with a meticulous delivery.
Late in the listen, “Island Swan” unfolds like a modern day electro-pop version of Footloose, and “An Exit” concludes the record with a calmer moment of flowing melody as backing female vocals add greatly to the soothing and agile conclusion.
An extremely unassuming and thoughtful listen, though Zadorozny takes help from other artists, Blinker The Star is essentially his baby now, and he handles it with both restraint and playfulness and a strong sense of songwriting skill.
Travels well with: Ken Andrews- Secret Of The Lost Satellite; Ken Stringfellow- Touched