Purson – Desire’s Magic Theatre
Release Date: April 29, 2016
Label: Spinefarm Records
There are few things that I love more than when a band releases an album that not only exceeds my expectations but also breaks the proverbial mold that they started out with. With the release of their long awaited sophomore full length, Desire’s Magic Theatre, Purson did all of that and did it all without losing their identity. Sometimes bands get this kind of thing wrong. They either stay the same or they try to change too much. This time around, Purson has managed to perfectly offer up something completely different and exciting without compromising their identity.
The best way I can describe Desire’s Magic Theatre would be to call it something old, something new, something borrowed, and something psychedelically multicolored. If anything, Desire’s Magic Theatre is a costume change of sorts that is full of vibrant color, dynamic songwriting and performing, and at the end of it all, it still sounds like Purson. The opening title track definitely is a tip of the hat to Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band but then all of the sudden things take a turn for the heavy going right into the stellar “Electric Landlady.”
Purson also dips their toes into the psych rock waters of the 60’s with the Jefferson Airplane inspired “The Sky Parade” and I also loved hearing a bit of Jellyfish influence in “Mr. Howard.” While each track is stellar in its own right, it’s the seven minute epic album closer “The Bitter Suite” that had me moved and captivated. This is where the whole grand package is just sealed with a bow and presented as an offering of something quite remarkable that I couldn’t wait to re-open and experience.
These days, there are plenty of bands keeping the classic metal style of old alive and well. It’s just a refreshing change to hear a band such as Purson preserving another aspect of the great psychedelic movement of the 60’s and 70’s alive in their own way. Desire’s Magic Theatre is a timeless psychedelic rock masterpiece that reminds us that what was once old can be new again and be done just as well as it was by the forefathers and mothers.
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