Album Review

The Apples in Stereo
New Magnetic Wonder


I had not fully realized just how much The Apples in Stereo had informed the sound of today’s indie music scene, until I sat down to listen to their new album, New Magnetic Wonder.
At a time when cooperate record labels, desperate to sell an album, are trying to pass Good Charlotte off as an “indie band,” to hear a group of musicians who challenge their listeners is tremendously refreshing.
In my opinion, this album is the next step in a musical idea the band had started on their last album, 2005’s Tone Soul Evolution to Velocity of Sound. With line-up changes, most notably the absence of longtime drummer Hilarie Sidney, who left in 2006, singer/ guitarist Robert Schneider has continued his mixture of Beatles-song writing and the Beach Boys sonic excellence. Magnetic Wonder finds Schneider incorporating further influences, like Brian Eno, into the mix.
The album, which comes out of the gate at full throttle with songs like Shine and Thank You Very Much, show Schneider is capable of recapturing the energy of previous works. The album finishes with the song Dreams, that is one of the sweetest and textured songs I’ve heard since Elliot Smith’s final album.
The Apples in Stereo are one of those bands that I would recommend listening to their entire discography because it is a musical progress that has yielded one of the finest bands in the world of rock music.

For more info check:
Yep Records

Posted by
Matthew Byrd