Scan the Blue is Belfast duo Exmagician's debut album. With a heady mix of guitars meeting synths and spiraling threads of psychedelia, Exmagician brings together longtime collaborators Danny Todd and James Smith, the songwriter partnership behind Cashier No.9, who released the David Holmes produced album To The Death Of Fun in 2011 to widespread critical acclaim...

It's hard not to warm to the fuzzy Indie Rock sound of Exmagician's debut album. There's a confidence running throughout this LP that only comes from years of experience and a familiarity with your band members, so it comes as little surprise to learn that both Danny Todd and James Smith have worked together for sometime on other projects.

The album contains 11 tracks (45 min, 09 sec) and opens on the right note with 'Kiss that Wealth Goodbye'. There's a great mix of styles, but I think my personal favourite track was 'Wild Eyes'.

The album closes with 'Scan the Blue', which brought to mind Nik Kershaw's song 'I Hope You're Happy Now'.

This is an album that grows on you the more you listen to it and is certainly worth checking out if you're a fan of Indie Rock.

8

Nick Smithson