There’s a lot having to do with mystery in Magic Hour, the new EP from SoCal garage psych trio Lunar Hand. Whether it be the uncertainties in relationships, throwing caution to wind and seeing where the night takes you or the never-ending stretches of a night-dressed desert road; Lunar Hand are here to explore and take you along for the ride.
Today, Impose Magazine is pleased to bring you the premiere of Magic Hour in full.
The EP opens with “Smoke & Chandeliers,” a haunting rock waltz that finds Junior Reed (vox, guitar) lamenting a lost love with bleary eyes and a formidable croon. “12th Ave. Fright” is that out stumble out into the night following that last shot at the bar, looking for kicks led by some street-shuffle riffing.
“Won’t You Come Along” threads the needle with an instrumental high-wire act as complex patterns extend a hand out towards giving in completely. From there, “Sand Song” and “Desert Road” lead you towards desolation and that hard-nosed sense of enlightenment that only comes right before the Sun is about to rise.
In short, somebody needs to get Magic Hour over to Alex Turner and/or Josh Homme, stat.
To go along with a stream of Magic Hour, we had Lunar Hand break it down for us track by track. Check it all out below and follow them here for more.
“Smoke & Chandeliers” is about a breakup and just the emotional coaster that comes afterwards. I realized that for my own mental wellbeing, and I’m sure hers as well, it was just best that it had ended so that we could move on, so the song is a reflection of coming to terms with that. This song I actually wrote and recorded everything on before we even decided to make an EP, so we left the original recording that was first put together for the song.
“12th Ave. Fright” spawned from a riff idea I had and I tracked late one night with a guitar and a drum machine. Thats the original recording on the EP, it was going to be just a demo but the sound of it came out great. It’s a song that consists of various small thoughts blended together about addictions/thrills and personal willpower.
“Won’t You Come Along” is a song I actually wrote 2 or 3 years ago, the meaning is pretty much as it seems. Won’t you come along, they’re spinning our song. Running along with anyone you care to be with and enjoying it while it’s lasting. The recording process of this song was a bit tricky but rewarding. There were quite a few fine precise parts that we each had to lock in tightly, especially with some of the quick bass lines.
“Sand Song” is my stab at a cowboy-esque story. It trails themes of sticking to your guns so to speak. The recording process for this song was a great time experimenting with tones and trying different sounds, especially on the whole outro of the song between the vocals and the keys in the back of the mix.
“Desert Rd.” is a song that is meant to set the tone of driving through the California desert at night. Full moon, windows down, cool summer desert air, etc. It began as a jam that Derulo (bass) started one day and we all joined in and it took its own wings at that point. A few minor tweaks after that and the result was Desert Rd. I wrote the lyrics around being in the desert environment because I love the mysterious and uneasy (yet strangely comforting) nature of the desert landscape at night.
