Young Magic Live Show Review Mercury Lounge 2012 - music art film review

Young Magic played at Mercury Lounge, on a calm Sunday after a cool summer daze party weekend. Accompanied by a friend, I walked in as “You With Air” began, my favorite track from Melt, Young Magic’s debut full-length which was released earlier this year.

July 29th, 2012 @ Mercury Lounge, New York

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From the uniquely gorgeous Melati Malay with a guitar and her exquisitely ethereal vocals, and Isaac Emmanuel, who was vibing out with some sort of magical percussion set-up, came waves of transformative pan-ethnic textures in harmony with retro video projections of The Color Of Pomegranates, animalia, and hallucinogenic flowing shapes. The tracks took on a fresh life in the live setting, with anticipatory intros, expanded breakdowns, and drifting endings.

At one point, I found myself wishing there were blankets and pillows strewn about, or maybe even some crafted trees to encourage the audience to hang out as the haunting, worldly harmonies waxed and waned over us.

After several tracks from Melt, the band paused to say hello and mentioned that the next would be a new track. Twinkles of excitement were felt throughout the crowd. My friend turned to me with a big smile, as the song quickly became a favorite with its dreamy, sensual chants of, “There’s something in the water/ It’s intoxicating how you feel” atop a video backdrop of a lady snake dancing in bedazzled lingerie.

Young Magic thanked the crowd for spending their Sunday with the band and expressed that they had been on the best tour ever but they were glad to be back home. Closing with “Night In the Ocean”, they lulled the audience into their hypnotic, reverberating swells.

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Young Magic @ REDEFINE magazine 2012 House Party