Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * *

Norway’s links with Liverpool are un-disguisable, even the favourite dish of the city, Scouse, originates from there and it is no wonder that all things Norwegian make their way to the city at some point or another. Some are taken to the people’s hearts straight away and some take getting used to.

With music in mind; Liverpool has had the absolute pleasure of having some of the finest acts reside in the city, Science of the Lamps, Grethe Borsum and Ragnhild Nordset have been appreciated and held close to Merseyside’s chest as close as some of their own.  Magma Brain, a three piece rock band, might take a little longer to get there but there is promise in their own musical style to warrant people catching their quirky sound, driven hard by a fantastic bass guitar and some good lyrics. They certainly cannot be faulted as a band for the tremendous energy they put out which is enough to shame the Northern Lights into semi-retirement and make those following them during the course of the day to raise their game.

As part of the International Pop Overthrow taking place in the Cavern, Magma Brain made the most of their half hour set and in the half dozen tracks they performed showed enough reasons why they were invited to play in Liverpool with tracks such as Meant To Be, the interesting and somewhat appealing The Fool You Used To Know and the final song of Breakout. With so many bands on absolute top form making their way onto stage inside The Cavern, it is sometimes easy to forgive a group with not the level of experience of others in how they come across on the day. Magma Brain are certainly attention-grabbing, they made sure of that and in terms of power-pop though the trio, given time and space, will surely get more used to what is required of them the next time they visit these shores.

It may be that as a city, the music going public have been blessed with many acts in which they like to call their own, to grab them passionately and protect them before fostering the sound out onto the world, given time it can be hoped that the same will be said for Magma Brain.

Ian D. Hall