Release Date: 12 April 2023
Song Count: 21
Rating: 8.1/10
Description:
For today's musical venture, we head towards Boise, Idaho as a trio of mysterious musicians and producers by the stage names of the Keeper, the Seer and the Weaver, together making up the group Magic Sword that has provided with their fifth album: Badlands. This 21-track piece, in spite of being fully instrumental with zero inclusion of vocals or voices, takes the listener through a fantastical journey led through the tracks' titles, atmospheres and connections to one another and fully immerses them in an experience like practically no other.
On the surface, the tracks mainly just consist of a synthwave soundscape with electronic percussion, keys, guitars, and of course synths leading the way - but once one looks into the finer details and intricacies of the way the tracks interact with each other, the metaphorical magic inside of the album truly shines. Every transition between the individual songs is carried out smoothly and flowingly; the different moods and temperaments all help to carry along this unspoken yet enticing narrative that is being told, and the ambiguous slate that each song provides through this approach leaves much to the beholder's imagination to fill in the tactically placed blanks. Even if there may be a lack of a directly told story or even a voice to characterise the happenings, the subtle tone shifts and musical elements within the tracks are enough to invoke a sense of wonder, adventure and a wish to see what comes up next on the journey.
Though I've come in with lower expectations for Badlands, thinking it to be no different from most other synthwave albums out there, the masterful craft behind it that is noticeable throughout its entire 54-minute runtime was a pleasant surprise to witness. Going into it for a full run of each track is the ideal way to go for this work, as to experience the full extent of what synths, drums and enough creativity and willingness to go all in are capable of making - a near concept album-like work, all without one sung or spoken word. A very well-done job from Magic Sword!