Majical Cloudz — Are You Alone? (October 16, 2015)

   ^{Majical Cloudz — Are You Alone? (October 16, 2015)} Ξ★Ξ   Hauntingly plaintive electronic art pop from Montreal’s Devon Welsh and Matthew Otto. 
Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Styles: Nostalgia Piano Rock, Alternative/Indie Rock, Indie Electronic, Indie Rock
Album release: October 16, 2015
Record Label: Matador
Duration:     43:35  
Tracks:
01 Disappeared     3:45 
02 Control     3:21 
03 Are You Alone?     3:51 
04 So Blue     3:49 
05 Heavy     3:30 
06 Silver Car Crash     3:30 
07 Change     4:07 
08 If You're Lonely     3:40 
09 Downtown     4:09 
10 Easier Said Than Done     2:48 
11 Game Show     3:19 
12 Call on Me     3:48
AllMusic Review by Marcy Donelson; Score: ****½
★   On Are You Alone?, Majical Cloudz pick up where the exceptionally beautiful Impersonator left off two years prior, and issue more sparse arrangements of hypnotic, minor–key electronics under plaintive cries and intimate observations, like a subdued, post–apocalyptic offspring of the Blue Nile. The album begins like a dust bowl sunrise, with plunking, distorted piano tones, and Devon Welsh's calm, covetous vocals on the loss–pervaded “Disappeared” (“Those that forever disappeared/All I want is for you to talk to me”). It’s impressionistic, almost Debussy–like but with fewer notes, and eventually saxophone and the soft sounds of rushing water. “So Blue” instead offers misty accompaniment via cathedral–like organ and choral voicings, though manufactured–seeming and amalgamated with spare percussion to futuristic effect. The song also features strings and additional drums by Owen Pallett, adding warm textures to the humming, harmonious synths. This type of gently varied instrumentation invigorates the album without disrupting it, as do the fluffy marimba tones of the surging “Game Show,” and recurring metallic beats throughout. “Change” feels relatively upbeat musically with one of the record’s prettier melodies, but is far from content, and delivers the cautionary “I want to believe in everything you say, but I’m already feeling change.” It’s an album of longing and disquiet. To call any of the songs wistful seems inadequate; they are engulfed in saudade. The experience of Are You Alone? is perhaps best captured by lyrics in its hopeful yet still desolate closer, “Call on Me:” “Like a long ending in a film I have seen/We will ride up that hill, put a tear in their eyes/I remember how it ends, we survive/And the audience sighs.” ★   http://www.allmusic.com/
Written by:
★   Matthew Otto / Devon Welsh     1 — 12
Credits:
Ξ★Ξ   Tyler Crawford Mixing
Ξ★Ξ   Tyler Fitzmaurice Mixing
Ξ★Ξ   Austin Milne Saxophone
Ξ★Ξ   Ryan Morey Mastering
Ξ★Ξ   Matthew Otto Composer, Mixing
Ξ★Ξ   Owen Pallett Cello, Drums, Violin
Ξ★Ξ   Devon Welsh Composer
Ξ★Ξ   Kenneth Welsh Flute
Website: http://majicalcloudz.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/majicalcloudz
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/majicalcloudz
Management: Cool Managers / ,
Publicity US: Dana Meyerson /
Publicity Canada: Ken Beattie /
Publicity UK: Noam Klar /
Publicity EU: Keong Woo /
Publicity ROW: Tiger Reid /
Booking North and South America: Doug Croy / , Ben Buchanan /
Booking ROW: Jason Edwards /
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Majical Cloudz — Are You Alone? (October 16, 2015)

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