Magic Wands is an American rock band, originally from

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

, and currently based in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

History

The band was formed by Chris Valentine (guitar, vocals) and Dexy Valentine (guitar, keyboards, vocals) in summer 2008, after Chris found a copy of Dexy's song "Teenage Love" on her band the Dollphins' MySpace page and the two got in touch. Dexy moved from Los Angeles to Nashville and the two began to write music together. The name of the band stemmed from the gift of a magic wand from Chris to Dexy while the two were living on opposite sides of the country. Their first single, "Black Magic", was released on 7" vinyl in 2008 by Ark Recordings. In late 2009, the band signed to indie label Bright Antenna and released their first EP, '' Magic Love & Dreams'', recorded in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

with producer John Hill (

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer, songwriter and record producer. ''Billboard'' presented her in 2022, saying: "Spanning punk rock, hip-hop, and dance music, Sa ...

Lykke Li Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer. Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and electronic. Her debut studio album, '' Youth Novels'', was released in 2008, and has been ...

). ''Prefixs review gave the album a 7 out of 10 score, with critic Matthew Richardson writing, "The whole EP is covered with the cosmic haze of dream-pop, while the Valentines maintain the attitude of punk kids". On February 17, 2010, RCRD LBL released a download of the track "Warrior", remixed by the xx. The Wands' debut studio album, '' Aloha Moon'', was announced on the '' Spin'' website on February 7, 2012, along with a stream of the single "Space". Reviewer David Marchese wrote that the track was "a sexy and propulsive stunner...a really cool song, suggestive of the darker side of '80s pop and brighter side of falling in love". On April 5, 2012, RCRD LBL premiered the band's non-album cover of the Madonna song " Burning Up". ''Aloha Moon'' was released on April 24, 2012, by Bright Antenna. The band toured as openers for the Jesus and Mary Chain in summer 2012. Magic Wands relocated to Los Angeles, and recorded their second album, Jupiter The album marked a change in approach, as Dexy Valentine noted. While the album was being mixed, Dexy Valentine reformed her prior band, Bonfire Beach, self-releasing the digital album ''Lit'' in 2013, issuing an eponymous 2014 album on

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, ...

and touring with

the Dandy Warhols The Dandy Warhols are an American alternative rock band, formed in Portland, Oregon, in 1994 by singer-guitarist Courtney Taylor-Taylor and guitarist Peter Holmström. They were later joined by keyboardist Zia McCabe and drummer Eric Hedford ...

. Meanwhile, Chris Valentine traveled, studied ancient sound healing Magic Wands also contributed a cover of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's " Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" to the 2015 Cleopatra tribute album ''A Salute to the Thin White Duke - The Songs of David Bowie''. ''Jupiter'' was eventually released by Cleopatra on February 26, 2016. On May 18, 2018, the band released their third studio album, ''Abrakadabra'' on Argentine label Casa Del Puente Discos. That same month, Magic Wands also self-released the ''Portals'' digital-only compilation album collecting

B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...

, demos and other unreleased recordings. A vinyl edition of ''Abrakadabra'' was released on July 13 by US label Etxe Records., ''Abrakadabra'' on Los Angeles, CA and Washington, DC based labe

on vinyl offering a full-length digital download with bonus track "Puzzle of Love". Argentina based label Casa Del Puente Discos is providing CD versions of the release.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Aloha Moon'' (2012, Bright Antenna) * ''Jupiter'' (2016,

) * ''Abrakadabra'' (2018
Etxe Records & Productions
inyl Casa Del Puente Discos * ''Illuminate'' (2020, Self-Released)

EPs

* '' Magic Love & Dreams'' 12"/CD EP (2009, Bright Antenna)

Singles

* "Black Magic" 7" (2008, Ark Recordings) * "Warrior ( The xx Remix)" digital single (2010, RCRD LBL) * "Black Magic (D. Sardy Mix)" promo CDr (2012, Bright Antenna) * " Burning Up" ( Madonna cover) digital single (2012, RCRD LBL)

Compilation albums

* ''Portals'' (2018, self-released)

Compilation appearances

* " Cat People (Putting Out Fire)" (

cover) on ''A Salute to the Thin White Duke - The Songs of David Bowie'' (2015, Cleopatra Records)

References

http://post-punk.com/los-angeles-dreamwave-outfit-magic-wands-wash-the-tears-away//

External links

*
Magic Wands at Bright AntennaMagic Wands at AllMusicMagic Wands at Discogs
*
YouTube page
{{Authority control 2008 establishments in Tennessee Indie pop groups from Tennessee Musical groups established in 2008 Musical groups from Nashville, Tennessee American musical duos Cleopatra Records artists Bright Antenna Records artists