3/2/17:
Age appropriate

Four songs of fuzzy pop-punk loveliness. There's a heavy punch below the tuneful hooks, and that weight provides more than enough balance to keep this attack moving forward. And forward is the only direction these songs should go.



The Magnifiers
For the People EP
(self-released)

Basic stuff like this generally trends to the dull or generic. Three chords (or less) and a dream has been done to death. And yet, there are a few folks who have figured out how to infuse inspiration with energy to create something infectious. The Magnifiers are in that select group. This Chicago-based band isn't reinventing anything, but it sure kicks the ass out of this sound.

And with such wry songs as "Anarchy Sucks", with the awesome couplet "Anarchy sucks/It really does", there's pretty much no way to stop smiling while this is blasting through the speakers of your choice.

By the way, if you think I'm being sarcastic about the chorus to "Anarchy Sucks", you have to hear the delivery. At once earnest and ironic, I haven't heard anything so plaintively true in ages. And it's funny as hell, too. A cursory check of the Internets turns up almost nothing on these folks; perhaps that's because they appear to be quite young. Here's to hoping they lose their anonymity soon. They surely should.

Jon Worley


return to A&A home page