Music Review - The Apples in Stereo - New Magnetic Wonder

30 seconds into New Magnetic Wonder you have a pretty good idea what it’s all about. Once you hear the opening guitar riff and frontman Robert Schneider tells you to turn up your stereo you know you’re in for 100% unfiltered power pop of the highest degree.

The Apples trot out fuzzed-out guitars, vocoders, mellotrons, endless vocal harmonies and more hooks than a tackle box in crafting a masterpiece that merges the prog-pop of ELO with post-Sgt. Pepper Beatles. With it’s piano drive and wah guitar, “Same Old Drag” would fit nicely on Out of the Blue, while “Sun is Out” sounds like a deleted track from Abbey Road.

Same Old Drag

Sun Is Out

Upon repeated listening it’s hard not to notice the obsessive layering of the tracks, almost like Schneider has become a nerdy version of Brian Wilson during the Pet Sounds era. In fact, Schneider plays up the lab-rat image in a pair of bonus videos on the CD where he manipulates equations and explains the mathematical basis of music theory.

This math-geek perspective even led Schneider to create a new musical scale, based on a totally different mathematical concept than traditional scales, call the Non-Pythagorean Scale. Two compositions using the scale are included on the album (and a third is included in the CD’s bonus materials). These pieces sounds simultaneously foreign and comfortable. It will be very interesting to see how this new scale evolves as Schneider (an others) figure out the subtleties of it. (For more information on the scale and how it differs from typical scales, check out my writeup here)

Critics can claim that New Magnetic Wonder is derivative. I agree, but I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that. It’s an album that proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, and most importantly, the influences are good. It’s not like they’re derivative of Poison or The Carpenters. Anytime someone mentions Abbey Road and Pet Sounds in relationship to your album you’re going to be happy.

Is New Magnetic Wonder an early favorite for Best Album of the Year? Definitely. It may be favorite for Album of the Decade.

More Apples In Stereo coverage:
Explanation of the Non-Pythagorean Scale
Video for “Same Old Drag”
Story Behind New Magnetic Wonder
Video for “Energy”
“Energy”

Links:
Apples In Stereo site
Apples on MySpace
Buy New Magnetic Wonder at Amazon

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