It was only by chance a few years back that I came across
The Whims of the Great Magnet’s first CD, The Purple & Yellow album. A
stripped back collection of songs put together by Sungrazer’s Sander Haagman,
that, although musically quite a way from his previous band, his own unique
style was sprinkled all over it. Sungrazer was a band that I was fortunate to
see live a couple of times and even to this day their records are never too far
away from being played. There was always a slight hope of the band coming back
together but after the sad passing of Rutger Smeets, the songs will stay where
they are and live on through many more people who will hopefully discover them
again.
A couple of months back the bands facebook account hinted of
some recording activity that quickly turned in to what I am listening to now;
Good Vibes & High Tides. A collection of 10 Songs composed by Sander on
guitar/base and Iwan Wijnen on drums.
This time they’ve plugged in and brought together 40+
minutes of warm fuzzy psych that feels loose, easy and takes you away to a sun
drenched beach scattered with people sat jamming out whilst other are surfing
waves. It’s a place you will want return again and again, so kick back and
listen…..
Lose My Head rolls straight in with a warm fuzzy summer
evening riff that keeps jabbing at you in a good way. There’s a laid back “loose”
vibe to it that fits perfectly with Sander’s vocals which pulls together “the
jam” into a song. Straight away you can feel that as a group of musicians, the
band have plugged in this time and want to produce something magical. The
basslines are strong and the drums have a “kick back and doin’ its thing” 70’s
feel to them.
Here to Party pulls you in straight away with its soft
psychedelic mood. Again it has that laid back tone with a “sat on the beach”
head nodding chorus with Sander harmonising with his guitars, summoning that
magic that Sungrazer always had. The final minute has the guitar start to
wander off in that Euro psych style, but only for a few seconds.
Guess it’s Time takes you back towards the 90’s alt rock
scene as the guitar strums into a big wall of fuzz before it softens into
something more emotive by the way the guitar jangles, the bass stops, then
everything kicks in again. The chorus is warm, friendly and familiar to anyone
who still listens to online 90’s grunge radio, with its unique nod to that time
with their own unique touch. It almost has a film soundtrack vibe to it.
The title track Good Vibes & High Tides sums up exactly
how this song feels and how you could place it any of the “Endless Summers” era
surf videos. The strumming of the fuzzy sun drenched guitar conjures up the
hair blowing in the wind feeling whilst driving the coastline looking out at
the waves. The structure of the song is quite simple but really effective with
its lo-fi mix of the drums and guitar. The sound and feel of it is something
nobody else has mastered for a long time in the way it feels like it hangs
together really loosely but eases a vibe that is really unique. If they haven’t
already made a video full of Californian tube riders, then somebody should as
it would be the perfect compliment. Oh and half way through the track it builds
up to a minute of big soaring mountainous guitars that would belong on any of
the Sungrazer records.
Hay is a 40 second interlude that would have fitted well on
the end of any early Sub Pop singles.
Oew is probably my favourite track that magically manages to
get you to nod your head and tap your foot at the same time. The riff strums its
way up and down in the way Sonic Youth or Pavement did back in the 90’s and
they make it sound and feel so easy. The song stops and starts with the vocal
harmonies that only Sander can do with the word Oew. It’s the millisecond sound
of nothing between the fuzz that makes this something special and what always
had Sungrazer stand apart from most other bands. If this was released 25 years
ago, College Radio would have been blasting the airwaves with Oew.
Simple starts straight off with some slide guitar work, feeling a little country but also very personal in the way the words are sung and the way the music paints a reflective picture. The chorus kicks in harder though with a Dinosaur Jr vibe to it.
Battling to be my favourite track and definitely my favourite
chorus is Cocaine & Yoga. Starting with a drumbeat and bassline that hails
from deep in Seattle and there’s a little Kurt Cobain in the vocals, it doesn’t
take long before the riff of the chorus opens up and hooks you in. It really is
a special moment on the record. Sungrazer had an extraordinary ability to write
awesome riffs that sounded like they are played backwards and this is no
exception. The bass keeps the song driving along before the song drifts away and
returns with a way more psychedelic trippy acoustic vibe.
Wei Wu Wijen is super laid back with a pure desert feel to
it. What could be born out of a blues club, the track slowly and quietly creeps
along and you can feel every note played and every cymbal tapped. A good
reference point would be early Brant Bjork records.
To finish the album off, Roerloze Bewegar clocks in at
nearly 12 minutes and feels like a song that Sungrazer could have included on
their split record with The Machine. This time round the guitar strumming is a
bit more metallic and the bass thunders along harder as everything comes
together to produce a song that has purpose as it drives off towards the
horizon. The vocals drift along and fit over everything with such ease. The
riffs begin to bend away and dive back in as for the next few minutes the song
elevates itself high into the sky. At about the 7 minute mark everything stops
as though the listener has reached that far away place and the next few minutes
become more and more minimal as the guitar slowly drifts away peacefully into
the light.
I didn’t know what to expect from Good Vibes & High Tides
but it goes beyond any expectation I had. With the laid back psych vibe and sun
drenched lo-fi guitars it ticks many boxes for me, but add this to all the little
nods to 90’s alt-rock and grunge and Sub Pop throughout and I’m holding a
record that should be in everyone’s top 10 albums of 2019.
It’s also good to see that these songs will be getting
played live as they have just booked a record release show. Let’s hope it leads
to many more.
You can order the 180g black vinyl direct for 15 Euros + Postage from: thewhimsofthegreatmagnet@gmail.com or check it out at:
