White Magic reviewed
White Magic
Dark Stars
(Drag City)
Mira Billotte and Doug Shaw kind of bit off more than they could chew with last fall’s Dat Rosa Mel Apibus, which dropped about half of what it promised to deliver. They’ve found their way, though, in the Dark.
Appearing: December 6th at Empty Bottle in Chicago.
Maybe it’s Dirty Three drummer Jim White’s pounding on the Dresden Dolls-esque “Poor Harold,” or the introduction of Shaw as a vocalist, but Dark Stars is the most complete White Magic offering yet. Where Apibus meandered listlessly, Stars shows some accountability to the listener and takes shape like a mini album, rather than a “what we’ve been working on” EP. Shaw’s “Winds” puts Billotte’s piano in the background and welcomes the dawn, perhaps one of a new age for White Magic.
— Steve Forstneger
