Broken Stone Records & Remote Control Records are pleased to announce the return of Sydney’s Magnetic Heads. After a sizable pause, Des Miller has reignited the project and shared new single and video for ‘The Street‘.
‘The Street’ is a cheery pop banger with streaks of melancholy running down its face. “It’s about the alienation we’ve all experienced. When COVID came around the song took on a very literal meaning,” Miller says. He holds out hope, “I’m so enamoured by the possibility of community, our capacity to assemble. It’s why we love theatre, live music, dancing. Despite my moments of despair, I’m a tragic optimist.”
The Magnetic Heads project has laid dormant since 2012. Back then the five-piece group happily disseminated a bright, jangling 12 string guitar sound that cherrypicked from Talking Heads, Echo and the Bunnymen and The Smiths.
“I did a solo record and wrote two EPs with Magnetic Heads in 2007. We did a bunch of touring and festivals and then our attempts at recording more music disintegrated. Family and life got in the way and getting five people together in the same place became almost impossible.
But a few years down the track there was still the issue of unrecorded Magnetic Heads songs tugging at his shirt. Enter Liam Judson, chief songwriter and production whiz of dream-pop soul-mates Belles Will Ring / Lewis Goldmark. “It’s been a long time coming with Liam,” says Miller.
Together they holed up in Judson’s Sonic Funhouse home studio in bushy Blackheath near the top of the Blue Mountains, determined to dust off some unfinished recordings from previous sessions in 2015, some demos and lyrics from as far back 2009 and bring new ideas into high-res. Things had to be put on hold again as bushfires tore through the area. The pendulum of time swung back their way and the result is ‘The Street’ and a forthcoming Magnetic Heads’ debut album to come in 2021.
