In 2013, the Canadian musical-performance art project Majical Cloudz released Impersonator via touchstone indie label Matador, garnering praise from tastemaker and mainstream media as one of the year's best and most notable albums. Since then, principle writer and vocalist Devon Welsh has been fastidiously crafting the band's second studio album, while simultaneously touring the world with producer Matthew Otto. Today, Majical Cloudz announce their anticipated sophomore LP, Are You Alone?, arriving in-stores and online around the world on October 16th.
Building off a solidly-laid visual and sonic foundation, the conceptual narrative remains - simple yet emotionally forthcoming lyrics showcasing raw vulnerability, backed by sparse instrumentation and minimalist production. Welsh delivers melancholic but melody driven vocals echoing off elemental tones, praising love and friendship, commiserating over heartbreak and sadness. Written and recorded between Montreal and Detroit, Are You Alone? features drum, viola and piano support from Canadian composition genius Owen Pallett, known for his work with Arcade Fire, Grizzly Bear, Death from Above 1979, and Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys. Coming as no surprise, Welsh and Otto have created another soulful novella, continuing to contribute to the evolution of sound in pop, indie, and electronic music.
Majical Cloudz first began gaining larger recognition around their Turns Turns Turns EP in 2012 and soon after signed to Matador. In addition to being nominated for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize, Impersonator received critical praise from Rolling Stone, Pitchfork, Stereogum, VICE, Flavorwire, Earmilk and more. In 2014 the duo was recruited by teenage pop phenom Lorde as the opening act for her North American tour, taking their intimate stage setup to theaters across the continent. Their incredible conceptual live performance - somber in tone with moments of silliness; Pagliacci-esqe - gained notoriety from Billboard, Grantland, and Pitchfork and was described by Lorde as “one of the most simple and moving things I have seen, ever”. Following their fall 2014 tour with Lorde, Majical Cloudz released the documentary "A Lot of Humans", directed by Neil Corcoran with an original soundtrack by the band, and were featured as the summer cover story feature on Pitchfork.
Pitchfork Review (8/10)
The new Majical Cloudz album picks up where Impersonator left off: Stark, ethereal instrumentals buoyed by frontman Devon Welsh's unflinching voice. His counterpart, Matthew Otto, doesn't try and approximate backing musicians so much as create vapor trails where backing musicians might've stood. Their music is kind of an emotional strip show: Welsh knows it's a performance but he still ends up naked.
Halfway through Majical Cloudz's set at the 2014 Pitchfork Music Festival, the music cut out, leaving singer Devon Welsh alone with a live microphone in front of 6,000 people. The scene put a new spin on an old bad dream: Not only had Welsh shown up to class without clothes on, but the classroom had become a baseball field and everyone on it was a little bit drunk.
After a couple of dumb jokes (the packing peanuts of any good showman), Welsh canvassed the audience for requests and ended up singing an a capella version of an already startlingly intimate song called "Bugs Don't Buzz" from the band's 2013 album Impersonator ("If life could be forever one instant/ Would it be the moment you met me? No, my love").
For some bands, the moment might've constituted disaster, but for Majical Cloudz it was a logical endpoint to their music, which functions as a kind of emotional strip show: Welsh knows it's a performance but he still ends up naked. When the song was over, the crowd clapped with embarrassed hesitation: Should we be watching this? And should Welsh be doing it?
Please note that Are You Alone? is currently not in store but is an imported title from an overseas supplier.
Most of the time it takes around 2-3 weeks for the item to arrive here and be sent out but it can take longer if there are any delays.