Author, English professor and irrepressible Los Angeles based songwriter John Andrew Fredrick releases his 17th full-length album under The Black Watch. Magic Johnson is released in the UK through Atom records and reunites Fredrick with Scott Campbell (Acetone, Carina Round, Stevie Nicks), Andy Creighton (The World Record), and Rob Campanella (The Brian Jonestown Massacre, The Tyde)...

Magic Johnson is 56 min, 41 sec spread over 16 tracks. It opens on the right note with the upbeat and memorable 'Mad', which conjures up images of The Wedding Present, The Go-Betweens and The Cure.

Fredrick reveals that the songs are heavily influenced by his love of '80s English post-punk, Flying Nun records, C-86 and the psychedelic works of The Beatles. While listening to this LP I was reminded of A-Ha ('April Fools'); Morrissey ('Me & You & Me') and James ('Darling').

It's an album full of good, solid tracks that have a timeless quality to them. Sure there's an '80s vibe, but the tracks will be embraced just as much by a younger, modern audience as those of us who lived through the '80s.

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Nick Smithson