Magnuson is a power pop/art rock duo consisting of a husband and wife, Greg & Kyrsten (both on vocals, drums, guitars). This duo makes the same sound as a full three or more piece band. They play loud, aggressive & melodic rock based music. On their 2011 album, Crash Of Cassini, they feature 14 songs, all of which are under 4 minutes. They do have a straightforward mainstream sound without compromising to a label.
At first I thought they weren’t in the ’progressive’ music realm of which ProgNaut is all about. Very seldom do we deviate outside of the progressive rock genre but listening to their music more, it grew on me and I realized their music is on par with some of the art rock bands of the 70s & 80s and the power pop/alt rock of the 90s.
Some bands that they remind me of are The White Stripes (because of being a duo), The Pretenders (when they share vocals), and The Foo Fighter (for the aggressiveness) Dark Reality (2:16) to name a few.
The music on Crash Of Cassini goes by in a flash but leaves the melodies bouncing around in my head which makes me want to listen to the album again and again. I for one would love to hear Magnuson tackle something between 4-6 minutes or longer in the future.
I really don’t have a favorite track because they all have standout qualities. If you love art rock with some power pop included, then look no further than Magnuson and their latest release, Crash Of Cassini. A purchase of their album is a very good investment in the band and their version of music.
Reviewed by Ron Fuchs on August 6th, 2011
