Recorded in fits and starts from 1999 to 2001, the debut by
the Magic Magicians
-- which includes
the Black Heart Procession
's
Joe Plummer
and
764-HERO
John Atkins
-- is an unfortunately inconsistent effort despite the enormous talent of both artists involved. What's so disappointing about this side project's hits and misses is that when the duo does it right -- as on the late-night listening of
"123 to 9 to 5"
"Time Zones Be Damned"
-- they really do it right. So knowing the band's potential to create wonderfully moving and beautiful soundscapes, it's frustrating that most of these ten tracks simply sound like unfocused filler. Too many songs are impossible to distinguish from one another as they blend, unnoticeably, into the next -- something which doesn't seem artistically intentional so much as the result of repetitive songwriting. Even still, at times
Girls
sounds so remarkably similar to
's excellent
Weekends of Sound
that it should nonetheless appeal to fans of that band's walls of guitars and desperately plaintive vocals provided by
Atkins
. ~ Jimmy Draper