Here We Go Magic

Here We Go Magic revolves around singer and songwriter Luke Temple, who initially built his reputation through mural work, a background that resonates in the Brooklyn group’s layered sound. Their recordings blend indie folk, baroque pop, plains country, and other passing influences into an atmospheric whole, anchored by vocals that drift in a hypnotic haze and evoke expansive painted scenes. Temple grew up in Boston and spent years drifting across the United States before establishing himself in New York City during the middle of the 2000s. Although the members remain reticent about how the project began, Here We Go Magic had grown into a five-piece by the time their self-titled debut appeared on Western Vinyl in 2009. The follow-up, Pigeons, surfaced the next year with a comparably psychedelic pop approach, and the January EP came out on Secretly Canadian in the first months of 2011. In 2012 the band recorded A Different Ship with Nigel Godrich, known for his work with Radiohead. Keyboardist Kristina Lieberson departed to lead TEEN, and after bassist Jennifer Turner parted ways with the others, Temple, guitarist Michael Bloch, and drummer Peter Hale carried on amid their own solo and side endeavors. Their fourth album, Be Small, deliberately adopted a lighter tone; the 2015 release remained psychedelic yet was recorded at home on a smaller scale, primarily by Temple and Bloch while Hale was away on paternity leave.