There is a sparse and melodic grace to the new single from Sydney band Magnetic Heads (the work of singer/songwriter Des Miller and producer/musician Liam Judson (Belles Will Ring, Lewis Goldmark)). Open, thrumming and celestial instrumentation provides a comforting bedrock for Miller’s elegant vocals, sometime soaring, sometimes speaking, always enigmatic and posed, replete with backing choruses and an innate sense of drama and theatricality.
The track deals with some dark themes – inertia and youth suicide:
The time of your life,
Has gone and flashed before your very eyes,
There’s no surprise you’re out tonight.
A kiss upon your lips and then a look,
You ask yourself… “what am I doing here?”
What are you waiting for, your time’s gone a running
But this darkness is leavened by a scintilla of hope in the title chorus. Shades of light and dark, matched by the beautiful music.
There is an arch lyrical poetry and baroque framework that evokes but is never a pastiche of luminaries as impressive as The The, The Smiths, Luke Heynes and Pulp, and this is only augmented by one of the most enchanting videos.
Filmed at Ashfield Town Hall , director Andrew Lancaster recalls how he wanted to:
…capture something classic and timeless that could transcend age and place, a feeling of free abandonment mixed with the faded glamour of a bygone era.
Miller says:
Andrew, producer Noni Couell and their amazing team Patrick Harris (DOP), Lucas Corroto (1st Ac) and Gourav Gandhi (Gaffer) and Suriya Black (Colourist) managed to captured this sentiment and wrap it up in a fabulous documentation (shot by Nino Tamburri) of a community dance hall performance. Ashfield Dance Choreographer Yoppy Yap and his happy and committed collection of talented enthusiasts remind us that the life is about spirit.
It is a glorious clip that brings joy to even the bitterest of hearts:
‘Time of Your Life’ has a tornado of freshness and vitality to it, and the single can be streamed here or through the link below.
Accompanying this brilliant single is news of an new album recorded by Miller and Judson in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney. Entitled ‘Moral Outage’, it will be released on 13 August 2021 through Broken Stone Records/Remote Control.
In the meantime, Magnetic Heads will be launching the single on 10 June at the Hiway Bikini in Enmore, Sydney – details here.
Feature Photograph: Saskia Wilson
