The Apples In Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder

Well, it’s been 5 years since The Apples In Stereo have graced us with their presence. In the past, while part of the glorious Elephant 6 family, The Apples kept me deliriously happy by providing me with some of the greatest pop songs ever written. Well, obviously time has been very kind to them. Their latest release, “New Magnetic Wonder” ranks right up there among some of their best work. I haven’t been paying attention to the lyrics close enough to determine if this is, in fact, a concept album, but it does have that concept album feel to it. But in a good way. Right from the opening robo-ma-tronic introduction to “Can You Feel It?” encouraging us to “turn up the stereo,” you know that this CD is going to put you in a blissful state of glee. “Same Old Drag” is an outstanding song, filled with as many hooks as one could cram into a 3 minute song. It’s also filled with more delightfully cheesy vocoder harmonies than Jeff Lynne could have ever dreamed possible. Hillarie Sidney (who apparently has left the band?!?) gives us a few splendid vocal moments, particularly charming in “Sunndal Song.” Robert Schneider’s voice is in the usual good form, whether sung with bombast as in “7 Stars” or with startling maturity as in “Play Tough.” The songs are linked together with several short sound bites that help to hold the album together as one coherent piece of work. It’s been a while, but it’s really good to have The Apples back again.

The Apples In Stereo are playing at Lee’s Palace on February 20th.

Downloads:
Same Old Drag mp3
Sunndal Song mp3

Visit The Apples In Stereo myspace page.
Purchase “New Magnetic Wonder” here.