Description
Bryan's Magic Tears release their fourth album, 'Smoke and Mirrors', on Born Bad. The famed pupil-dilated French garage/shoegaze/indie band have cooked up a new sound in the studio with producer Marc Portheau. Benjamin Dupont (guitar/vocals) collaborated with Lauriane Petit (bass/vocals), writing the majority of the tracks together on this unabashed pop album.
This confusing specimen will rave about fashionable shoegaze oldies while admitting a kink for All Saints. Aptly named, 'Smoke and Mirrors' pokes fun at stadium music while respecting its codes. It looks and sounds like Shaun Ryder had eaten Liam Gallagher, shamelessly churning out hits, leaning on a well-built wall of sound, held together by Raphaeol Berrichon and Nicolas Boursier (guitars).
The record heavily features that typical '90s shuffle beat, with which Bryan was already flirting...but they're an item now. Two-thirds of the tracks have that groove on. The synth intro to "Crab Kiss" will feel like an acid flashback of Underworld's "Born Slippy". It saves the French a trip across the Channel - and time - to get that baggy-friendly music.
