Rewind twelve months, and The Magic Gang were using Reading’s Festival Republic stage to prove just what a vital force they had become. A year later, and they’re back. This time round, though, they’re firmly camped in a tent comfortably four times the size of their previous home. Those tests just keep on coming.
But then sensible people – and we count ourselves as sensible people, Dear Reader – have no room for doubt when it comes to The Magic Gang. Since their first moves they’ve been a little bit special. As time goes on, that sparkle only increases.
Sounding more robust than ever before, their timeless indie jangle is a heady mixture. ‘All This Way’ doesn’t just swoon, in booms – sing-a-longs already firmly in check – while ‘No One Else’ and it’s glorious harmonies soars, every inch the anthemic moment The Magic Gang were built to create.
At times, it’s easy to forget this is a band without an album behind them to swell the ranks. But then, more decorated peers playing the same stage later in the weekend won’t pack anything in the class of new single ‘Your Love’, a song that sounds both current and timeless in the same moment. That’s The Magic Gang all over.
As ‘How Can I Compete?’ provokes its own impromptu karaoke session, it poses a question that needs no answer. Nothing’s a challenge when you can cast a spell so strong. The gang continues to grow at pace.