Review: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros

The fourth album from Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros “PersonA” was released last week. This album contains a mixture of psychedelic rock, soft alternative jazz and smooth grassroots music.

The album begins with “Hot Coals,” a seven minute long track that feels like it goes on for longer than seven minutes. This song has a country feel to it, but it also is very slow and sad. The rhythm and tone of the song changes several times, making the song feel like the opening number of a poorly written musical.

“No Love Like Yours” is a better track, rich with sweet lyrics and folky guitar patterns. This song is a highlight on the album, shining like a star in a sky full of bad songs.

“Perfect Time” is a slow track that can easily make anyone feel sad and nostalgic. The song’s vocals sound like an odd mixture of Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra. One would think that grand duo would make a fantastic combination, but this is not the case. Vocalist Alex Ebert’s voice just comes off as creepy in this song.

“The Ballad of Yaya” is the final track on the album. This song isn’t terrible, but it starts off too slowly and can easily turn one off. However, as it speeds up, it seems to get a bit better musically. The vocals are pretty weird, but overall this song isn’t terrible.

This album is a swing and a miss for the band. It feels like the band forgot they were making a regular album and not writing songs for an awkward, old-timey play. The songs on this album are both too sad and too slow, many not making sense. This combination of elements makes for a sub-par album that shows the band didn’t try too hard.

Dakota Palmer is the Online Editor for The Spectator.

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