Live Review: The Magic Gang - Electric Ballroom, London 28/03/2018

Brighton four-piece The Magic Gang play a triumphant sold out set at London’s Electric Ballroom. With support from Boy Azooga and Our Girl, Camden seemed to light up like it was a buzzing Saturday night out.

Introducing their rhythmic and dynamic world, Boy Azooga take the stage first with a synth funk vibe shortly followed by foggy garage trio, Our Girl. With the endless flow of people joining the rowdy crowd, the venue was soon stuffed with a mixture of dedicated fans.



After just releasing their highly anticipated new album ‘The Magic Gang’, this debut follows many charming EPs. Taking their time, the hopeless romantics have shaped and perfected their musical signature before venturing into the album, taking their distinct 60s sunshine sound to new heights.

Opening song ‘Oh, Saki’ shows off the bolshy confident side to the Brighton quartet. The slapping bass set with glittering guitar hooks, create a crisp contrast to the sweet, luscious vocals. It only takes one song in and their ethereal trance of positive vibes is radiating from the speakers. The innate joy their music awakes is utterly liberating, perhaps why the crowd are entirely hooked, chanting out every lyric to the song as if they’ve known it for years.

Not wasting any time, they slide straight into ‘All This Way’ and ‘Getting Along’, showing their knack for providing numberless favourites. There’s no denying that the band are enjoying themselves every bit as much as the legions of devoted followers they’ve already gathered, visibly shown by frontman Jack Kaye’s beaming smile. All four members as clearly having the time of their lives through exchanging smiles and giggles.

Hopeless romanticising continues as The Magic Gang spin track ‘How Can I Compete’ with over 1,000 voices yelling “How can I compete, I don’t want to contest / I just wanna know that you will be in my arms.” With a brief break for the encore, the group couldn’t stay away for long. Ending on golden ‘All That I Want Is You’, their approach seems refreshingly honest and sensitivity. The release of their album has brought a huge turning point for these boys, and if tonight’s reaction is anything to go by, they’ll only become more popular in the months to come.



Words and Photography by Lauren McDermott