Magoo

It’s been nearly ten years now since the much missed Melody Maker labelled Magoo as “the brightest of the lot”, and despite their light still shining brightly, Magoo remain one of England’s most underrated and overlooked bands. By the way, when I mention Magoo I’m not talking about Timberland’s mate, but instead England’s answer to The Flaming Lips.

This gig was a launch party for Magoo’s new album “The All Electric Amusement Arcade” which is out now on Series 8 Records. I’ve been lucky enough to have my hands on the record for quite some time now and can honestly say it features some of the finest sounds to grace my sacred speakers. So with this in mind I approached the gig with a sense of excitement at hearing some of these songs in a live setting, as previous Magoo sets I have witnessed had focused more on previous releases such as their “Popsongs” mini album that was released last year.

After some brilliant support from Hull’s finest, Fonda 500, Magoo arrived onstage to be greeted by a lively home crowd who were clearly expecting big things from the performance. They certainly weren’t left disappointed. Mixing highlights from the new album such as “Expansion Ride” and the beautiful tale of love gone wrong “Can’t Get Off The Ground Today” with even newer material, it is clear to all that the Magoo song writing factory is one that is prolific to say the least.

Front man Andrew Rayner didn’t hit a wrong note all night and his unusual but captivating vocals hit the mark on both the all out rock moments such as new single “Super Teen Scene” and the more melodic songs such as the lyrically outstanding “Lana Turner”.

The clearly alcohol fuelled crowd helped add to the party like atmosphere created by huge balloons hung from the ceiling of the venue and danced the night away to the sounds coming from onstage. It was no surprise that come the end of the night they were shouting for more and this request was fulfilled by an encore so loud it left everyone’s ears ringing. A drumming exhibition from Stacey Gow and screams of feedback erupting from the amps made sure everyone left the night with something to remember Magoo by.

It is clear from this performance that Magoo truly do have something very special going on indeed. It just remains to see how long they remain the UK’s best kept secret.

FUTURE GIGS

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