Then-Birmingham-based duo Magnétophone, formed
of Matt Saunders and John Hanson, appeared toward the
end of the nineties with a series of singles released
on labels such as Earworm and Static Caravan, which
soon led them to be signed to legendary imprint 4AD.
A first album, I Guess
Sometimes I Need To Be Reminded Of How Much You Love
Me, followed at the end of 2000, with a further
EP appearing a few months later. Since, it’s been
near total radio silence on the part of the band, yet,
with just a handful of releases under their belt, Saunders
and Hanson set themselves away from the main currents
of electronica, creating instead a grittier and more
organic form of music.
While their early work is undeniably rooted in electronic
music, Hanson and Saunders actually spent most of their
formative years in rock bands. This undoubtedly explains
the occasional guitar textures found on I
Guess Sometimes… With The Man Who
Ate The Man, they assimilate electronic, acoustic
and electric in far more obvious fashion. Here, Magnétophone
embark on a truly impressive journey, and with the help
of a handful of collaborators, including Breeders’
Kim and Kelley Deal, King Creosote and HMS Ginafore,
both members of the Fence Collective, and folkster P.
G. Six, create a superb collection of highly textured
compositions. Alternating between instrumentals and
fully formed songs, The Man Who Ate The Man
is somewhat reminiscent of This Mortal Coil’s
Filigree & Shadow or His Name Is Alive’s
Home Is In Your Head in the way the various
textures are so intricately woven into the musical canvas
and appear to dictate the atmospheric settings instead
of be just elements of it. The treated guitars found
on Kel’s Vintage Thought, In The
Hours After or Without Word for example
don’t just alter the general tone of these tracks,
but actually define it. Elsewhere, Magnétophone
flirt with folk on I’ve Been Looking Around,
wonderfully ethereal pop on A Sad Ha Ha (Circled
My Demise) and even inject some subtle melancholy
on Let Start Something Smooth, yet, here again,
Saunders, Hanson and their collaborators manage to fine-tune
the mood of each track by carefully applying their soundscapes
and vocal layers.
This results in The Man Who Ate The Man feeling
totally unique. Despite the electronic underlay, the
album seems to have more affinities with rock music
than with most contemporary electronica. Once again,
Magnétophone define their own sonic realm away
from the mainstream and create a truly unique record.
4.2/5 |
