Empty Cellar Records is proud to release the newest album by Magic Trick, Other Man’s Blues. This offering from the band finds songwriter, Tim Cohen at a crossroads. It was written and recorded during a year that split his time between two lives, in two worlds. The newer of these worlds was on a horse ranch in the northern Arizona desert where he and his partner spent their first year with their newborn daughter. The other was the music world. The latter took place on the road, on tour with Magic Trick or with the Fresh & Onlys. And in the case of Other Man’s Blues, it took place for one week at Phil Manley’s Lucky Cat Studios in San Francisco.

Tim arrived at the studio with a color-coded composition book of songs he’d been writing while bouncing to and fro. This book would have to suffice in lieu of rehearsal time with the 13 other musicians who appear on the tracks. About half of the tracks feature James Kim on drums, the other half James Barone (Beach House). Alicia Van Heuvel (Aislers Set) and Paul Garcia split time on bass. Joel Robinow (Once and Future Band / Danny James) contributes on keys. Emmett Kelly (The Cairo Gang / The Muggers / The Double) provides a couple stunning guitar solos. There are omnipresent vocal harmonies from Alicia, Noelle Cahill and Anna Hillburg, the latter of whom also plays some trumpet. San Francisco standbys Dylan Edrich, Tom Heyman, and Marc Capelle all contribute. It was a loose, largely improvised affair.

The album’s roster is less the product of grand ambition, and more the result of an open-door policy at the studio. These sessions also served as an opportunity for Tim to hang out with friends while in town. He’d see who was around, they’d swing by. Allegedly tequila was centrally involved. A “hit the joint and come up with a bit” approach. “Here’s a chord chart. Go.” And guest appearances are more than just a little icing on top here. It’s the principle that warranted giving this project a band name five years ago: when Tim’s non-onlys oeuvre stopped being credited to Tim Cohen and instead was attributed to Magic Trick. Especially in the case of Other Man’s Blues, the players on the album define what shapes these songs take.

And it’s a wide variety of shapes you’ll find on this album. Take this less as a conscious display of versatility (although it does demonstrate Cohen & Co.’s ability to shape-shift) and more as a result of the freewheeling, haphazard recording environment described above. A ghostly choir of female voices open the album like a seance. And the spirit they conjure proceeds to flit about over the course of the ensuing ten tracks, animating various stylistic forms, from the baroque pop of “Forest of Kates” to the icy post-punk of “I Held the Ring.” There’s the air-tight R&B groove of “Startling Chimes,” the krauty “Purest Thing,” a jammy side-to-side trot that moves “First Thought” along, taking a detour into country before culminating in a glorious Grateful Dead indebted coda. But throughout, it’s Tim’s lyrics that are pushed to the front of the mix. This album is a display of solid songwriting – collectively fleshed out, but from Tim’s composition book, and with Tim’s lyrics about family and about himself. These songs are the sound of his friends helping him suss through the conflicts of his new dual existence as father and musician, between old self and new.

Magic Trick’s 2013 offering, River of Souls, opens with Cohen asking, “Should we live from the mirrors other side?” Maybe, what you have here on Other Man’s Bluesis an attempt to do just that. You can hear that his scope is widening, is being forced to widen by his circumstance. These songs are full of empathy. They reckon with notions of sacrifice and devotion, acknowledge the “winds of desire” and admit that “musings come from below” like a force of nature. Our protagonist is mid-transformation or maybe even pre-transformation. He is able to “regard his gruesome self” only because he is becoming a new man. Both sides are present. Which is the Other Man? Who is Tim Cohen? What is this magic he is trying pull off? Is it a trick? Or true sorcery? Either way, he must evolve.

PREORDER NOW

Track Listing:

1. More
2. Forest of Kates
3. I Held the Ring
4. Scorpio
5. First Thought
6. Mockingbird
7. Eternal Summer
8. Purest Thing
9. Startling Chimes
10. Oysters

Magic Trick Dates
8/3 – San Francisco, CA – Rickshaw Stop w/ The Cairo Gang (Tim Cohen Solo)
8/18 – San Francisco, CA – The Chapel (Record Release Show)

EMPTY CELLAR BANDS ON TOUR!!!

The Cairo Gang:
7.31 – San Francisco, CA (solo) @ The Chapel %
8.3 – Felton, CA (solo) @ Don Quixote’s %
8.8 – Los Angeles, CA (solo) @ El Cid w/ Jessica Tonder, and Paz Lechantin
8.21 – Los Angeles, Ca (solo) @ Holy Grounds(el sereno) w/ Will Ivy, and Shannon Lay
9.05 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios $
9.07 – Vancouver BC @ Biltmore Cabaret $
9.10 – St. Paul, MN @ Turf Club $
9.11 – Madison, WI @ High Noon Saloon $
9.12 – Ames, IA @ Maximum Ames Music Festival $
9.14 – Cleveland, OH @ Happy Dog #$
9.15 – Buffalo, NY @ Mohawk Place#
9.16 – Toronto, ON @ Adelaide Hall #$
9.17 – Montreal, QC @ Pop Montreal at Fairmount #$
9.18 – Allston MA @ Great Scott  #$
9.20 – Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater  #$
9.22 – Washington, DC @ U Street Music Hall #$
9.26 – Portsmouth, NH – 3S Artpsace $
9.27 – Philadelphia, PA @ Johnny Brenda’s $
10.2 – Jackson, MS (solo) @ Duling Hall $

% with Ty Segall
$ with Mikal Cronin
# with Calvin Love

Tim Cohen:
7.26 – Makeout Room, San Francisco, CA

Cool Ghouls:
7.27 – SF at GAMH, Social Studies Record Release
8.07 – Portland at SMMR BMMR Fest
8.09 – Reno at Holland Show Space at Rainshadow *
8.10 – SF at Rickshaw Stop *
8.11 – LA at the Echo *
8.12 – San Diego at TBA *
9.17 – Oakland at Leo’s ^
9.18 – SF at Brick & Mortar ^
9.23 – Los Angeles, CA El Rey +
9.24 – Pioneertown Pappy + Harriets +
9.25 – Santa Ana, CA Constellation Room +
9.26 – San Diego, CA The Casbah +
9.27 – Las Vegas, NV Beauty Bar +
9.29 – Denver, CO Larimer Lounge +
10.01 – Dallas, TX Three Links +
10.02 – Austin, TX Saengerrunde Hall +
10.03 – San Antonio, TX TBD +
10.04 – Houston, TX Rudyard’s +
10.05 – New Orleans, LA Siberia +
10.06 – Atlanta, GA The Earl +
10.07 – Durham, NC The Pinhook +
10.08 – Asheville, NC Mothlight +

* with La Luz
^ with Natural Child
+ with Shannon & The Clams

Magic Trick:
9.01 – The Chapel, San Francisco, CA w/ Ducktails

The She’s:
7.24 – The Crepe Place, Santa Cruz, CA w/ Pyromids,Emotional
7.25 – All-Star Lanes, Los Angeles, CA w/ The Memories, The Lentils, & Grape Room
7.26 – Whistle Stop Bar, San Diego, CA w/ Growwing Pains
7.28 – Redwood Bar, Downtown LA, CA w/ Dripmen,The Ugly Kids, Deadpanzies
7.29 – Burger Records Hump Night, Continental Room, Fullerton, CA w/ June Holiday, Grand Air
7.30 – Pappy and Harriet’s, Pioneertown, CA
7.31 – Duffy’s, Chico, CA w/ The She Things, Viking Skate Country
8.01 – Corner Haus (House), Portland, OR w/ Ladywolf, Makeout
8.02 – The Future (House), Seattle, WA w/ Mope Grooves, Mikey Nike
8.03 – The Hindenburg, Vancouver, BC Canada w/Jody Glenham, Plazas
8.05 – The National Hotel, Nevada City, CA w/ Dazeys
8.14 – The Chapel, San Francisco, CA w/ Swiftumz, Smiles, Air Surgeon

Sonny & The Sunsets:
7.25 – Quiet Music Festival – Seattle, WA
7.26 – Quiet Music Festival (solo Sonny Smith) – Portland, OR
7.02 – High Sierra Music Festival – Quincy, CA
7.11 – Phono del Sol Music & Food Festival – San Francisco, CA
7.17 – Haymarket Whiskey Bar – Louisville, KY $
7.18 – The Mothlight, Asheville – NC
7.19 – Ocean Grill and Tiki Bar – Carolina Beach, NC $
7.21 – Black Cat (backstage), Washington, DC $
7.22 – Baby’s All Right – Brooklyn NY $
7.23 – The Press Room – Portsmouth, NH $
7.24 – Mohawk Place – Buffalo, NY $
7.25 – The Silver Dollar – Toronto, Canada
7.26 – Mo Pop Festival @ Riverside Park – Detroit, MI
7.27 – BEAT KITCHEN – Chicago, IL
7.31 – Pickathon Festival – Happy Valley, OR
8.01 – Pickathon Festival – Happy Valley, OR
8.02 – Pickathon Festival – Happy Valley, OR
9.02 – dB’s – Utrecht, Netherlands
9.03 – Merelyn – Nijmegen, Netherlands
9.04 – Misty Fields Festival – Heusden, Netherlands
9.05 – Into The Great Wide Open – Vlieland, Netherlands
9.06 – End of the Road – Salisbury, United Kingdom
9.07 – Shacklewell Arms – London, United Kingdom
9.08 – Espace B – Paris, France
9.09 – Le Troc Cafe – Strasbourg, France
9.10 – La Batie Festival @ La Parenthese – Nyon, Switzerland
9.11 – Treppenhaus – Rorschach, Switzerland
9.12 – City Club – Augsburg, Germany
9.14 – Basement Club – Prague, Czech Republic
9.15 – ACUD – Berlin, Germany
9.16 – Loppen – Copenhagen, Denmark
9.17 – Geronimos FGT – Stockholm, Sweden
9.18 – Revolver – Oslo, Norway
9.19 – Pustervik – Gothenburg, Sweden

$ with Sarah Bethe Nelson

River of Souls is the third enchantment from the hat of Tim Cohen (The Fresh and Onlys) and his band, Magic Trick. Picking up from where he left us with Ruler of the Night (Hardly Art), Cohen brings us ten new intimate tracks, polished as yet unseen. Recorded in The Tree House, his attic studio, River of Souls whirls with parables of change amidst emotional flotsam and jetsam. Insecurities, sarcasm, escapism, optimism, vanity, honesty, and bona fide love… it is all there, but in comforting form. Tim’s well-skewed pop songs remind us that things can always be better, but also that what we have is pretty amazing.

River of Souls signals a new approach for Magic Trick. As in The Fresh and Onlys, Tim has begun to distinguish his muses from those of the foggy San Francisco lo-fi movement that he helped to shape. Mixed at Lucky Cat Studios with Phil Manley and mastered by Paul Oldham, this album exudes presence and confidence. Now, more than ever, the vocals break through the clouds, and the mix champions the artistry in each player’s performance. Tim’s baritone spars with angelic female chants (Noelle Cahill and Alicia Vanden Heuvel) over the crisp unmistakable pulse of James Kim‘s drums, and the melodic drive of Alicia’s bass throughout. San Francisco’s gifted guitar workhorse, Tom Heyman, channels Mark Knopfler; one-man metal mystery, Steve Peacock, brings the right kind of shred; and Marc Cappelle’s horns retort the melodies, as Tim jettisons his woes upriver. It is clear with each downbeat the band has honed its language and tempered its chemistry.

Change permeates this record, but Tim Cohen diehards need not fear. The songs on this album are classic Tim Cohen jams through and through. Still present are the first-thought-best-thought off-the-cuff style and the genre-spanning I-can’t-quite-pinpoint-who-this-reminds-me-of assimilation of influences. Still here are the heartbreaking nonsense and the litany of brilliant guest appearances. River of Souls begins with an invitation to “Come Inside”. The songs stick with you from that point forward, and what’s more… the record ends before you are ready to leave the party. Altogether, this album makes it clear that there is not a man more worthy of thee Muses than Tim Cohen.

Keeping with tradition, the LP version on half-red/half-blue vinyl is presented in a classic tip-on sleeve featuring artwork by Kevin Earl Taylor.  Get yours HERE!

The Cairo Gang is playing some rad live shows this month in support of the The Corner Man (out 10/23). THEY WILL EXPLODE YOUR DOME!

Live Cairo Gang Dates:
9/26 – The Dirty Three + The Cairo Gang, Lincoln Hall, Chicago

9/27 – The Dirty Three + The Cairo Gang, Cedar Cultural Center, Minneapolis

10/9 – The Cairo Gang, FREE In-store at Reckless Records (Broadway), Chicago (EXCLUSIVE PRE-RELEASE!)

10/24 – Crime and the City Solution + The Cairo Gang, Slims, San Francisco

…also catch Pillars and Tongues tomorrow, Tuesday, night at Subterranean in Chicago!

9/25 – Here We Go Magic, Pillars and Tongues, Golden Birthday, Subterranean, Chicago