Magic Hour - Sunset Variations (1995)

Magic Hour were an American psychedelic rock band from greater Boston, Massachusetts, and were formed by the coming to gether of the criminally under-rated Crystalized Movements members Wayne Rogers and Kate Biggar, and the only slightly more well-known Galaxie 500 members Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang. In 1993 Damon and Naomi were contacted by Wayne and Kate asking them if they'd like to replace the recently departed Crystalized Movements rhythm section, and after the first rehearsal it was decided they should form a new band rather than carrying on as Crystalized Movements. Their music was characterised by Rogers' long acid-drenched guitar solos, under-pinned by Damon and Naomi's rock-solid rhythm section. They released three singles and three albums, mostly on Twisted Village Records, before disbanding in 1996. Having loved Galaxie 500's work, I was keen to investigate what Damon and Naomi would get up to next, so I bought Magic Hour's 10" EP 'After Tomorrow' and was blown away by what I heard. I bought all the albums that they put out, but only just found out that I'd missed their first 7" release 'Heads Down', which has now been rectified. Two of the songs from the 'After Tomorrow' EP later turned up on their debut album, but the third song, a 15-minute version of the Godz 1967 classic, never made it to an album, so this post consists of both sides of the 'Heads Down' single, exclusively mixed together, the complete 'After Tomorrow' EP, the b-side of their third single, plus two songs gifted to compilations, and covers pretty much the whole of their short, but extremely memorable, existence. 

Track listing

01 Heads Down (single 1993, exclusive mix)
02 After Tomorrow (from the 'After Tomorrow' EP 1994)
03 World Of One (from the 'After Tomorrow' EP 1994)
04 Permanent Green Light (from the 'After Tomorrow' EP 1994)
05 America (b-side of 'I Had A Thought' 1995)
06 Sunrise Variations (from the 'Succour' benefit album 1995)
07 Out Of Touch (from the free 7" with Goar Magazine #11 1995)