The Magician, a first to materialise rabbit-from-hat-like from Andy Shauf’s forthcoming sophomore full-length The Party, is majestic not merely because I last heard it wafting out of a Reykjavík coffee shop that smelt not altogether dissimilar to waffles, but also because it’s the sort of impressively condensed symphony to drizzle a great deal of grandeur all over this otherwise dreary Thursday. Now, grandeur isn’t necessarily the sort of term one might instantly associate with the eternally tousled itinerant; however, like a slightly less hirsute, if commensurately loveable Chris Cohen, the slightness of touch applied to this, his craft is comparable to that of any which children’s entertainer. (Of the hexing, rather than sexing, variety, of course.) And the outcome – replete with chipper woodwind instrumentation, as well as breezy strings and ballsy guitars – provides a surprisingly (if in no way unwelcomely) cocksure listen from the ascendant Canadian. However, with that said (and with The Party incidentally featuring such glumly monikered numbers as Eyes of Them All and Alexander All Alone), Shauf is seemingly certain to remain more wide-eyed outsider than life and soul forevermore…

The Party will be available from May 20^th via ANTI-, while Andy plays London’s Bush Hall on the night of the ensuing 25^th.