As somewhat of an unofficial tenth anniversary celebration of thegroup, Jaga Jazzist have decided to reissued their pre-Ninja Tune 1998mini-LP, which has quickened my completist heart. Previously availableonly within their native Norway, or as a hefty-priced import (if youcould find it), the re-release of Magazinenow has wider distribution thanks in part to the success of the group'sNorth American releases and subsequent tour. The complexity of thecompositions and musicianship on this disc blows my mind, knowing thatthe majority of the group were still in their late teens when it wasrecorded. Such compositions and performances sound like that ofseasoned players at least a generation or two ahead. The crisp, liveelectro-styled dance bass and drums of "Jaga Ist Zu Hause" pulse alongfor soaring melodies handled by unison xylophone and soprano sax.Normally, I have an aversion to modern day soprano sax performances,but I'm willing to overlook and even embrace it in this context. Thebroken-up swing and shimmering Fender Rhodes on "Swedish Take Away(Live)" recalls the popular, yet subtle 70s action flick soundtrackstyle, with a brief and tasteful drum solo. The cheerful "Seems To Me"is the first track I've heard of any of Jaga Jazzist's stuff featuringvocals, which are accompanied by acoustic guitar and tastefullypeppered with glockenspiel and smooth horns. For the bonus tracks,"Serafin I Jungelen" re-mixes source material from an even earlierrelease to an electronic dance pulse, while "Magazine Part I & II"messes with the said releases tracks in a very open format. Havinggarnered a fair amount of acclaim outside of their homeland, I'mlooking forward to additional re-releases of earlier material, whichwill continue to have me thinking that I'm an old fart based on themusical chops that I've got.Read More
