MAGIC PIE – Motions Of Desire

Take one talented and visionary guitarist, two soulful vocalists, one saucerful of rock solid drum and bass relationships, one dash of Hammond organs and mellow synths, and stir it all gently, while adding in the very essence of 1970’s Progressive Rock. Leave it all to settle in for a while before baking in the heat of time until done. Voila! You have yourself a Magic Pie!

Norwegian sixtet Magic Pie formed some three years ago and Motions Of Desire is their full length CD debut. Following the recipe approach in the introduction, one can truly say that this Magic Pie is homemade. Mastermind and guitarist Kim Stenberg has not only penned most of the music, he has also produced, mixed, and mastered the album, while acting as art director and cover designer. This is a path well-known for its self-indulgence traps and hideous monsters of pretension. Still, Stenberg rides high and there is no doubt that this is a collective effort as much as his own.

Motions Of Desire opens with “Change,” a 20-minute epic travel through a number of stylistic inspirations, but with a unique taste to it, introducing a band fresh out of the mold with a potential to redefine Progressive Rock as a genre. It’s a solid and quite filling starter, but it leaves room for so much more, and what’s better than to taste the following “Motions Of Desire?” It’s a song you just wish would never end, loaded with positivism, marveling vocal harmonies, uplifting bass work and an all over sound so refreshing it makes a cold shower on a hot day feel like a sauna … and the final fade out is nothing but one outstanding example on how to fade out!

Making up nearly one fifth of the album’s total length is “Full Circle Poetry.” It’s another epic track, with a dreamy guitar solo introducing the overture-like opening. To one’s great amusement, the main verse is carried forward by a Reggae-style beat, an unusual shape to be seen in the genre. Later on, the song grows into a chord pattern familiar to all fans of British Progressive Rock, before the clash of the Metal Titans brings on a tremendous finale.

“Without Knowing Why” offers a different mood all together, and becomes the album’s angriest composition. The funky groove is familiar, but the vocal arrangements make waves bound to wash up on your doorstep. Dominating the song, however, is the raging solo battle between guitar and keyboards. Listen carefully to the reach-out-and-touch vitality of the calmer 7/8 figure part of this battle, where Jan Torkild Johannessen truly plays his drums: it’s beautiful, just beautiful.

“Illusion & Reality” stretches across 3 tracks and becomes the suite of Motions Of Desire, even if part 2 of the piece never made it to the album. The first part, which also is the longer part, defines a structure seen in previous tracks, where rhythmically complex movements walk hand-in-hand with simple, nearly naive signature melodies. These signature melodies serve a purpose as memo tags or guidelines, since they are easy to pick up, and thus will help you through the more over-your-head movements. Admittedly, this is not a unique twist, but rarely do the ingredients go so well together as in this Magic Pie.

The next two parts of “Illusion & Reality” come from the same mold, but with more focus on their individual features. Part 3 focuses on the fierce guitar solo and world class Progressive Metal wrapping, while part 4 focuses on the Musical style chorus from part 1, and an even more uplifting presentation of the “naive” theme, also from part 1.

Closing Motions Of Desire is “Dream Visions,” yet another positive and uplifting piece, but perhaps with a darker tone. When the vocals appear after a near 5-minute intro, they are for the first time on this album monotonous and almost spooky. Nevertheless, the song represents another climax in all its complexity, diversity, and flawless sound and production.

Allowing some healthy criticism, the acoustic guitar sound might be a notch or two over compressed, even if it seems to be intentional. There are also a couple of solo phrases (especially in “Illusions & Reality (part 4) – Reprise”), which are less convincing than many of the other oh so brilliant solos on this album.

Still, what makes Magic Pie and Motions Of Desire so special is the feeling it presents. Even if this is very much a product of Kim Stenberg, the album reflects a band, more than anything, and a feeling of vital, uplifting positivism unmatched by any other band within the genre. It’s nothing short of a spiritual boost and a celebration of the joy of music. Even then, after all this is written it is still nothing but a pitiful excuse of a description of a truly astonishing album. It is hard to find words fit to serve this album right, so why don’t you just go out and buy it! Bon appetit!