Tim Cohen, AKA Magic Trick’s latest release, Other Man’s Blues, is an easy listening album that’ll keep you nodding your head throughout its roughly forty-minute duration. Influences ranging from Real Estate to The Grateful Dead can be found in this blend of folk-rock tunes. My favorite track, “First Thought”, sounds reminiscent of the Dead’s American Beauty, with a solo that is comparable to something you would find digging through Europe ’72. Diverse instrumentation and a solid mixing of male and female vocals help give the melodies in this LP an extra charm. With its strengths laid out, Other Man’s Blues is not without its flaws. Most notably all of the tracks extend beyond three and a half minutes. If an album is good, its duration typically isn’t an issue, but I found myself wanting to skip through more than half of the songs after reaching around the two-minute mark. Other Man’s Blues is held up by three or four strong tracks, such as “Scorpio” and “Startling Chimes”, making it easy enough to listen through the whole thing. With that being said, Tim Cohen’s most recent musical effort definitely merits a play-through, but ultimately is an album that I expect will lack memorability for most listeners, including myself.
Recommended If You Like: Real Estate, The Grateful Dead
Recommended Tracks: 2 (Forest Of Kates), 4 (Scorpio), 5 (First Thought), 9 (Startling Chimes)
Do Not Play: None
Written by MacConnell Wilson on 09/25/2016
