Magic Arm - Outdoor Games [Switchflicker EP]

You could create quite a physical figure with the names of contemporary bands: a Radiohead, a Blood Arm, a Magic Arm and some Clap Your Hands Say Yeah! with Stiff Little Fingers. The bottom half of the body would probably prove more troublesome, but the members of Towers Of London would of course suffice for either male or female genitalia.

The ‘Magic’ Arm in question is Manchester’s Marc Rigelsford, who has rather resourcefully made this debut seven track EP at home on his computer. It is easy to be a little suspicious of so-called ‘bedroom’ artists and wonder why they can’t do the normal thing and form a band, but it seems Mr Rigelsford was once in a band called Escape Pod so he is probably ‘normal’ after all.

The gentle title track of the EP is a good indication of what is to follow on ‘Outdoor Games’. Opening with a folky mix of guitar and banjo, the hushed vocals are reminiscent of the American folk of Iron and Wine, but the song builds to an understated psychedelia that gives it an atmosphere of its own. ‘You Should Know’ on side two of the EP is a more upbeat folk song that again places emphasis on a plucked banjo and layered banjo, and it is these moments which bring Magic Arm most success.

‘People Need Order’ brings this formula up to date with the addition of a tinny drum beat and touches of synth, with multitracked vocals contributing to a sound very much like Simian’s work as a band. ‘I Want You You Want Me’, too, adds some programmed beats, while ‘Move Out’ is the most unsettling number of the lot: a menacingly discordant track with hints of a frog chorus behind it.

‘DAQ’ is apparently Magic Arm’s “uninformed take on electronica”, and to be honest that’s exactly what it sounds like. It is by no means terrible but does give the impression of someone messing about on their computer and the insinuation that it is rather tongue in cheek detracts from it being taken too seriously as a piece of work. In truth, the mostly instrumental ‘I Want You You Want Me’ is a far more successful take on the genre.

This EP is certainly eclectic and it’s clear that Rigelsford has some ideas, some talent and a lot of time on his hands. Though eclectic, each track can loosely be placed in a leftfield folk bracket, with the ‘psychedelia’ and ‘electronica’ knobs twiddled to varying effect at each step. On the experimental evidence of ‘Outdoor Games’, Magic Arm would fit nicely with the Eat Your Own Ears stable of Adem, Four Tet et al, but there is plenty of honing to be done before truly competing with them for quality.

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First published on rockfeedback.com. See it here.