One thing I can say about Magic Shoppe is that they never disappoint. They have their own unique sound while borrowing from so many great influential points of reference. You get a bit of JAMC, classic shoegaze, Loop, Spacemen 3, you get the point. It’s basically straight up Rock n Roll with all the alt rock edge we know and love. Mono Lake is no different. You get the wall of distorted sound, massive pedal effects, solid bass work and drumming and the familiar vocal styling from past records but with some punky Husker Du styling as well like on “King Maker”. Of course there are the classic anthem style pieces like “Looking Right Through” and “Are You There God? It’s Me Satan” (my personal fav on this album). You also can’t go wrong with the standout final track “Drugstore Heart” and all of it’s 9 plus minutes. Magic Shoppe’s first release was my reintroduction to psych tinged rock and they have not disappointed since. Front to back this is probably their best yet. Unfortunately I am not sure where you can still get this one. It seems to have flown off the shelves. Hopefully a repress coming. Lookout for a UK tour soon.
Released by Little Cloud (USA) and Cardinal Fuzz (UK)
https://magicshoppe.bandcamp.com/album/mono-lake
