In 1997, Magoo - a bunch of callow indie boys from Norwich with evidently large Flaming Lips and Jesus & Mary Chain collections - released a single called 'A To Z And Back Again'. A terrific blast of the buzzpop largely abandoned by British bands in the wake of Britpop, it augured well for an unusually imaginative career.
Magoo's first two albums for Chemikal Underground didn't quite measure up, sadly. So it's with a mixture of surprise and satisfaction we can reveal 'Realist Week' is a small gem of indie psychedelia. The three members of Magoo are still transparently in thrall to their very tasteful record hoards: the influences of My Bloody Valentine, Love, Krautrock, US hardcore and even folk music can be detected in the 12 tracks here.
But there's less self-consciousness and, crucially, more coherence this time round. It's a confident band that tries to meld baleful melodies to expansive noise whilst keeping within the budget, and on 'Powerman' and 'The Only Tests With Guarantees' Magoo manage to pull it off in style.
Andrew Rayner's shrill vocals can grate occasionally, but when they hang around a tune as lush and charming as 'Knowledge Is Power' (Super Furry Animals' 'Northern Lites' relocated in East Anglia, ostensibly), criticism seems churlish. That's 'Realist Week': an oasis of insanity in the current blasted and boring terrain of British indie.
