White Magic for Lovers

Japanese edition of their 1998 album featuring the hit U.K. single 'El President' (with Radiohead vocalist Thom Yorke guesting) and three B-sides added as bonus tracks: 'Livia', 'Wait' and 'Everything A Girl Should Have'. 15 tracks total.A Roadrunner Records release.

While this British band's self-titled debut self-consciously aped the moody sprawl of Mazzy Star, White Magic is a dramatic leap in a different direction, and they don't waste a second letting you know it. "Say Hello" opens the album with sloppy loud guitar, Stereolab-esque bleeps and whistles, a Latino trumpet frill, and Brazilian chanteuse Isabel Monteiro's newly confident vocals. After that manifesto, the band makes no missteps: White Magic is startlingly original and fresh. The highlight is "El President," which features a duet with Radiohead's Thom Yorke, whose whispy soprano meshes beautifully with Monteiro's breathy (and sexy!) rasp. Perhaps Drugstore learned a trick or two from Yorke, for the songs here, like on Radiohead's OK Computer, are complex, challenging, and completely rewarding. --Tod Nelson