Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
One for sorrow, two for joy… a child’s rhyme in which the salute to ward of the possible impending nature of bad luck is rewarded with the idea that all can be turned to good fortune, a prophesy perhaps, a revelation of what is to come. If that is the case, then the twelve tracks that make up The Magpie’s Salute’s debut album High Water I must have taken the rhyme to heart as they have served up a set of songs that can immediately placed into the bracket of the modern classic; a lofty high in which many magpies may have felt like royalty due to the consistency of the signalled musicianship.
Formed by The Black Crowes Rich Robinson, The Magpie Salute also utilises the delicious talents of Marc Ford and Sven Pipien from the band, and vocalist John Hogg, Matt Slocum on keys and Joe Magistro on drums. The term super-group might seem as outdated in today’s fluid and changing society; it could also be seen as presumptuous, a salute perhaps not worthy of capturing the Magpie’s eyes, and yet what this group have managed to attain in their debut offering is magical, the highest of water marks should serve as warning to others that the time they have sat on their laurels has now been wasted, for there is a new bird in town, The black crow may have flown off to ventures past, but in the magpie the song begins again.
It is the passion of the beat that carves such intensity, regardless of whether it is the upbeat and untameable or in the slow and passionate release that High Water I is accomplished and daring, it is an album that is relentless in its objective and it dispels the notion of negative thought with a simple swipe of its fingers.
In tracks such as Send Me An Omen, Sister Moon, Color Blind, Walk On Water and Can You See, The Magpie’s Salute is one that is unexpectedly returned, the creature in us all respects the flight taken and enjoys the scene that unfolds, it is a mark of intent that has come early in this new look group, but one that is assured and welcome.
The Magpie Salute’s High Water I is available now on the Provogue/Mascot Label.
Ian D. Hall