Swami (2026)
It seems both inconceivable and ridiculous that it's been ten years since the last Mrs. Magician record came out. This is a band responsible for two incredible albums, the first of which is easily in my top 10 records that have come out in the 2000s (probably top five, honestly - but I don't have time to check and do the math right now). This two song 7" marks their return in 2026, leading up to a new album next month. Which coincidently includes both of the songs on this 7".
Now, I must remind people that I have an aversion to listening to songs from un upcoming album outside of the context of the full album. I find that it makes me hear those songs differently than the rest. In the past I have overplayed advance singles and I've learned that it does the album no favors, so I avoid that now. I bring this up because I'm writing about this 7" only having listened to it once, with no plans to listen again until I can hear these songs with the rest of the full record.
I did write down some notes while I listened, knowing that I wouldn't be back for a little bit. A side "High Resolution" is a driving pop song with a big guitar riff doing the heavy lifting in the verse. There's some nice surfy secondary guitar sprinkled in and a great hook for the chorus. The song is very good and as I listened to it I was getting pretty excited to hear the new album when suddenly at about the minute forty-five mark or so, the song veers into an incredibly catchy bridge or breakdown or whatever you want to call it. It's just bonkers and makes the song even better than I already thought it was. What a ride.
On the B side, "Dead Alive" starts off with that scrappy, early, reverb heavy Mrs. Magician sound before cleaning itself up when the main thrust of the song kicks in. I hope we get a little more of that fuzzy aesthetic on the rest of the record as I really dig that. But again, this is another cracking good song with crunchy guitars and some really nice vocal interplay between Jacob and Tiffany Turnbloom where there's a back and forth before coming together into a harmony.
Like I said, I only listened to this once, but I definitely liked what I heard. What it really does (and I do believe this is the point of singles, I'm sure it's in a book somewhere) is make me excited to finally hear the full length. I am counting down the days and doing finger exercises to ensure I can preorder the vinyl as quickly as possible once it shows up in the Swami shop.
Mrs. Magician - "High Resolution":
Mrs. Magician - "Dead Alive":
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