“I always hoped that we’d sound one way, and I realized listening back to our first album that we didn’t sound like that at all,” explains Cunningham, who plays guitar and writes the music. “I had hoped we would sound a little bit older.”|“It’s basically a band trying to figure out what the hell we’re doing,” adds vocalist Phil Benson. Speaking of which, what the hell is that album title about?|“My friend had a dream where she was in an acting class,” explains Cunningham. “Paul Reubens was the teacher, and he’s making these aggressive come-ons toward her, but at the end of it she graduated, and they gave her a plaque and it had that title written on it with the capitals.” Two years after completing the album, the Pop sextet—which also includes Colin Dobrin on drums, Matt Kallman on Wurlitzer and Farfisa, guitarist Ryan Lynch, and bassist Nathan Sweatt—has finally found its footing. Despite the fact that the band members aren’t all coming from the same place—Cunningham, Benson, and Lynch used to play in The Cosmos, who were influenced by American indie-rock outfits like Yo La Tengo, and the rhythm section is made up of jazz musicians—they’ve rallied around a love of British bands like Orange Juice, Felt, and Echo And The Bunnymen. And they’re certainly not afraid to talk about it. “We want to tell people as much about that as we can,” says Cunningham, whose guitar work contains traces of British heavies like Johnny Marr and John Squire (The Stone Roses), and which perfectly complements Benson’s Ian McCulloch-like vocals. “We take a scholarly approach to what we’re doing. We love that music.” Magic Bullets have been together since 2004, but things didn’t get serious for the band until it was faced with the task of opening a show in San Francisco for the then-buzzing Voxtrot. Not surprisingly, the Great American Music Hall audience liked what it heard—a sound that’s been compared to everyone from Vampire Weekend to Black Kids to Born Ruffians—and the response was similarly positive earlier this year when the band embarked on a month long tour with Seattle garage-rockers The Blakes. Those interested in getting a taste of what the band has been up to lately should swing on by its MySpace page, or head over to iTunes and download two great new tracks that find the band hitting its stride: “The Upstairs Flight” and “Enough Is Only Enough,” the latter of which will remind listeners of Trash Can Sinatras in their prime. Next up for the Bullets is a 12” vinyl EP titled Lives For Romance, which they’ve been making demos for since early 2007. Sure, the group is taking its time, but as the members themselves have realized with their own music, good things come to those who wait. “I don’t want to have to be pressured into doing anything,” states Benson. “I want to be able to make songs at our own pace and be proud of them, not make a few stinkers and settle for it.” |
