Twos, Millie and Magic Fig

Returning from a leave-of-absence with a guitar-centric collection of reviews covering contemporary American Primitive, African Garage Rock and San Fran Psychedelia

Twos by Matthew J. Rolin

Ohio-based guitarist and composer Matthew J. Rolin’s latest release, Twos, is compiled from various previously released compositions from the last several years. A heavy, aggressive fingerpicking style is showcased throughout the album’s nine tracks, but this manner of playing only enhances the tone of peace and serenity in Rolin’s compositions.

In “Glanced Horizon,” nimble guitar lines cleverly and effortlessly meander their way through dense, chugging strum patterns complimented by flourishes of organ, while acoustic numbers like “Tilt” and “Tumble” sonically encapsulate the Autumn air of Appalachian Ohio. The most stunning piece in the collection comes midway through on “For a Better Year,” originally released as a sort of New Year’s single in the final days of 2021. Fully electric and heavily distorted, the composition’s jagged, frantic cadence belies the cloudless optimism that emanates from Rolin’s playing. Every note sounds like an earthquake but feels lighter than a maple leaf.

Millie by Blackfoot

From the Zambian music scene’s peak in the mid-70’s, Blackfoot’s Millie was released into the Zamrock reissue market a couple of years ago, hot on the heels of releases by WITCH, Rikki Ililonga and Amanaz. The album, full of Stones-esque blues rock guitar solos and funkified James Brown-style breakbeats, is made even more endearing by its rough-and-ready garage rock sound. The nine tracks all sound more or less the same, but they bring it home every time — you won’t want your 36 minutes back.

Magic Fig by Magic Fig

Coming in at a brisk 28 minutes, the self-titled debut EP from Magic Fig offers a light — but filling — introduction to a band that will hopefully be around for a while. Something of a San Francisco supergroup, Magic Fig is made up of some of the most active Bay Area indie rock musicians of the past few years, featuring members of outfits like The Umbrellas and Almond Joy. The newly-coalesced band’s lead single and album-opener “Goodbye Suzy” feels like the Big Bang into the next age of psychedelic pop.

Well-versed in various musical languages, the band injects jazzy, disco-infused grooves and heavy metal breakdowns into the otherwise airy pop-rock nugget “PS1,” and wistful balladry into the aching “Distant Dream.” In a day and age where the public discourse surrounding San Francisco and the Bay Area largely revolves around housing crises and tech industry shenanigans, Magic Fig serves to remind us of the city’s long, continuous history of being a weird and wonderful source of great music.