“We wanted to capture a sense of movement and energy, like rushing water flowing from a fountain or cascading across mountains into a landscape,” describes Dexy Valentine dark, atmospheric dreampop duo Magic Wands, on Cascades, which is out today (October 24th) via Metropolis Records and can be streamed HERE. Dexy continues, “Water represents a release of energy, emotions, creativity, a vision.”
Shaped by the duo’s signature cinematic atmosphere and celestial hooks, Cascades explores transformation, reflection, and the pull of distant horizons. Behind the story of the album, Chris Valentine explains, “I had gotten a book about the World’s Fair that was in Chicago that inspired a lot of the record. In it were pictures of this great Colombian fountain, and that’s where the idea for Cascades came from. The album is very water-centric, in the sounds and the lyrics.”
“Cascades was born from a fascination with how the past lingers inside us and explores transformation and the spaces where timelines blur into one,” the band explains. Shaped by the spirit of centuries-old poetry, gothic romance, and myth, the album pulses with post-punk and dream-pop sounds, shot through with lingering shadows of the old world.” Kicking off the album with haunting reverb drenched “Across The Water” that echoes in the distance, and glides into new wave inspired track “Armour,” and punches through synth-heavy pulse of “Hide,” before shifting into the mysterious “Albatross.” From there, the album heads into the dark-pop shimmer of “Moonshadow,” and wakes up into a dreamlike haze with “Time To Dream,” spilling into the mysterious title track “Cascades,” flowing seamlessly into the guitar-drenched “Golden.” It’s an album whose emotions and textures swell and ebb, sweeping you up in dramatic crests and subtle streams.
On the duo’s personal favorite tracks, Dexy explains, “I wrote and played the guitars on ‘Armour,’ ‘Hide,’ ‘Time to Dream,’ ‘Moonshadow,’ and ‘Cascades,’ and am happy with how they turned out, also the track ‘Riverbed,’ because it’s different from our usual style of songwriting and a good closing track.” Chris adds, “If I had to pick one song, I’d go with ‘Time to Dream,’ It has a great melody and guitar lines. Dexy’s voice sounds great. I like the lyrics, there’s this thing about it that seems simple but there’s a lot in those few lines.”
Formed in 2008 in Nashville by vocalists/guitarists Dexy and Chris Valentine but now based in Los Angeles, Magic Wands are known for a shimmering, dreamy sound that melds elements of shoegaze, dreampop, postpunk, and goth. Their music utilzes heavily-textured guitars, synth drones, and ethereal vocals to conjure an otherworldly atmosphere, with emotionally engaging lyrics.
They first cast their spell with the 2012 debut album Aloha Moon, an introduction to their world of glowing guitars, hypnotic rhythms, and lyrical mysticism. That vision deepened and expanded with Jupiter (2016), Abrakadabra(2018), and Illuminate (2020), each release charting new constellations in their evolving sound. After further experimentation and exploration on Switch 2023, the band continues evolving their journey with Cascades. Sharing melodic hooks of their debut album Aloha Moon andthe deconstructed foundation of the last album Switch. Cascades evoke a sense of romance and nostalgia, sweeping you into an introspective and dreamlike landscape of castles, gardens, rivers, and forests. With dark post-punk overtones built on the alchemy of dark dreampop, goth-tinged postpunk, and a touch of cosmic romance.
Excited to finally release their album into the world, Dexy says, “We’re happy that it’s completed and coming out the right time of year. It feels like a perfect fall/winter album,” Chris adds, “We spent months getting the album all together.. so I’m happy now it’s getting out there.”
The duo will be performing at The Substance Festival in Los Angeles on November 7th . Tickets are available HERE.
Cascades is out now can be streamed HERE, and physical vinyl can be purchased HERE.