Magic Castles CD release show—Saturday night @ Kitty Cat Club

by Cyn Collins, TC Daily Planet • June 27, 2008 • Explore Magic Castles’ debut, The Lore of Mysticore, a mind-melting mystical journey of acid-rain-drenched psychedelic folk-rock songs spiraling you back to the late 60s and early 70s—whether you weren’t there, or were there and don’t remember. Tolkien- and Brothers-Grimm-inspired dark lyrics sung in layers of harmonies and fuzzy, jangledy layers of several instruments delight the brain, hips and feet. Remniscent of early Syd Barrett and Pink Floyd, Magic Castles are the most authentic psychedelic band playing in Minneapolis during this resurgence of psych-folk-rock.

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Magic Castles, steeped in the original era of psych-folk, play beautifully soft, long slow space jams that grow troll teeth over several minutes. When you hear them sing about “10,000 and 100 splinters of shimmering sun,“ you can actually picture it in your mind. With the aid of an early 80s Fender Twin Reverb amp, I appreciate they’ve recently added more reverb (can never have too much) to their live performances, noticeable in their last Saturday’s Hex show.

At the Hex, as before at the Kitty Cat Club and the Turf Club and the 400 Bar—often not listed on the bill, which only adds to their underworld mystique—Magic Castles played their typically all-too-short set of about 5 songs leaving us wanting more mysticore. Or maybe it was a full-length set and we lost track of time due to the fuzz-out factor? As they play, you hear elements of one of Edmunds’ favorites, proto-punk group the Monks, as well as Joy Division percussion moments, Zappa, and a plethora of other surprises.

Their new full-length CD—which has an entirely handmade, handdrawn, handfolded brown paper sleeve—features the great medieval epic-sounding “Ballad of the Golden Bird,” the skyward-gazing “Now I’m a Little Cloud,” the menacing rattle of “Cave Troll Blues,” and the sure-to-be-a-hit “10,100.” The album as a whole makes you want to slow down, tune in, drop acid, drop out, and bask in the dark sun of it all.

Jason Edmonds, the band’s lead singer/songwriter, promised us that if we come to the Kitty Cat Club CD release show, we won’t hear the same songs as the prior Saturday—in fact, they’ll be playing the new album in its entirety. Much as we all will miss “Emory,” all their songs are compelling and beautiful, so I know we’re in for a great show.

Cyn Collins is a Twin Cities freelance arts and culture writer. She is the author of West Bank Boogie, a substitute programmer at KFAI, and an assistant producer of Write On Radio.

Photos courtesy Magic Castles