US dream-pop duo Magic Wands recently released a new EP `Wishing Well` which included the recent singles ‘Sacred Mirrors’ (a collaboration with Psychedelic Furs guitarist John Ashton) and ‘Wishing Well,’ a remastered version of the 2024 single ‘Hide’, a remix of ‘Golden’ (from their 2025 album ‘Cascades’), plus the brand new songs ‘Starline’ and ‘Yesterday’s Dream’. The band was formed by Dexy Valentine (guitar, keyboards, vocals) and Chris Valentine (guitar, vocals) and have released five studio albums to date. The duo were originally from Nashville, Tennessee but currently reside in Los Angeles, California.
This extended play opens with ‘Starline’ which I read is a push-and-pull between fear and surrender, burning like something you can’t quite hold, It’s about longing, release, and the moment of truth. A dreamy melodic fragile love song of sorts. There`s a much faster pace to ‘Wishing Well’ which has a slight haziness about it and a sense of urgency or anxiety.
John Ashton guitarist with post punk new wave outfit The Psychedelic Furs, is a self-professed fan of Magic Wands and sent an instrumental track to the duo who added further guitar, keyboards, percussion, lyrics, and vocals. The track ‘Sacred Mirrors’ has a reflective, contemplative almost ethereal ambience about it. There`s a feeling of almost separation and disconnection to `Yesterday`s Dream` which I felt was quite hypnotic.
`Golden` is a remix of the track which was on the band`s 2025 album ‘Cascades’ and it`s pretty similar to the original. The final offering is `Hide` but here it`s a remastered version of a single which was released a couple of years ago. It has a much fuller deeper sound but still leaves me in mind of The Cure`s `A Forest` from over forty year ago.
I have to be honest and confess that the `Wishing Well` EP was my introduction to this duo and there was so much to enjoy. If you have a window of around twenty minutes this six tracker is ideal to give you a rejuvenating boost and is delightfully enlivening and elevating in equal measures. The band seem to be pretty active with another single out at the end of this month and an album entitled `Sun Kiss` due in the Fall along with a hometown date next month.
I also will be active investigating the quintet of albums already released prior to the forthcoming release in October.
Rating 8.5/10
