Piano Magic’s Part Monster

One of the earliest reviews I ever wrote here on Opus was of Piano Magic’s entry into Darla’s “Bliss Out” series, and since then, I’ve been rather enamored with the music of Glen Johnson and his associates.

Over the course of ten years, seven albums, and countless EPs, singles, and compilations, the group has consistently straddled the line between shoegazer, goth, electronica, post-rock, and folk. Sure, there have been a few missteps along the way — though I still contend that Writers Without Homes is a fine album — but few groups have a catalog as beguiling, mysterious, or beautiful as Piano Magic’s. As such, my checking account instantly groans as soon as I catch word of a new Piano Magic album.

Which, this time around, is Part Monster, which is coming out May 22, 2007 on Important Records (Anoice, Merzbow, Acid Mothers Temple, Pauline Oliveros).

You can listen to two clips from the album — “The Last Engineer” and “Soldier’s Song” — both which are lovely. Especially “The Last Engineer,” whose echoing piano notes and swooning guitars perfectly match Johnson’s tale of alienation (“I feel alone in the city/I feel alone in the crowd/I try to listen to reason/But the city’s too loud”).

Additionally, you can listen to the title track on Piano Magic’s MySpace page. Finally, Delusions of Adequacy has posted a review, calling it a fearless and powerful piece of work.

In other Piano Magic-related news, Angele David-Guillou, whose dreamy vocals have graced many a recent Piano Magic song, recently released her solo debut under the moniker Klima. And Glen Johnson has fellow Piano Magic member Cedric Pin have released an an album of electropop titled We Don’t Just Disappear under the moniker Future Conditional.