A new album from Jamie Mc Donald gives off a very lush and almost rustic sort of folk rock that crosses into Americana and breeds the energy of what feels like a live performance where everything and everyone involved seems to be feeding off of each other the whole time and it's all delivered with this amazing character that you end up getting attached to pretty quickly as well.
Throughout the course of the Magistrala album, you get a lush array of instrumentation from saxophones to violins, all kinds of amazing percussion, and a mix of acoustic and electric guitars that all come together and deliver this massive atmosphere that you get pulled right into.
There are such strong elements of classic rock and even folk mixed in as you listen to the records play through and you begin to understand that there are a number of influences musically that are built into this record and built into the artist himself as a songwriter.
The deeper into the album you go, you also realize that there's a lot of honesty throughout these tracks if you really listen to the lyrics and this gives that persona and that character or something authentic.
Some of the tracks are a bit more personal than others while some of them have just a sing-along rock kind of tonality to them and I hear some of that twang undertone of Americana peeking through with a lot of these songs so by the time you get through the record you feel very satiated musically.
This is one of those albums that you 100% need to listen to from beginning to end as a whole because if you only listen to one or two songs not only are you missing some of the stories and some of the personality, but you're not getting the full range of spectrum for what this album actually has to offer.
The energy captured here on some of these songs, again, feels like they were live performances and maybe they were recorded live on the floor just to be able to encompass that raw energy, but even if I'm wrong about that, listening to this record just makes you want to go see performed live because if the energy on the record is captured like this then seeing it live must be amazing.
This is like a homeland roots rock record that hits so many sweet spots in terms of being a rock album that its crazy, and it's all got this soul to it especially in the vocal performance but also in the performance of the guitars and many of the other instruments as well, everyone seems to drive together and each layer, each instrument the other.
This is a great escape and the record definitely has the ability to sort of shape your day if you listen to her first thing in the morning which is something I did.
A lot of these songs feel good, come from real places, and the whole record displays such a great presence and artistry, charisma, and this little hint of old soul that Jamie delivers.
All of this creates an atmosphere that you just don't want to leave once you're there.
I would definitely say again, listen to this whole record, and don't be afraid to turn it up because by the second go around, you'll be singing along with your hands in the air.