Oh dear. This is one of those reviews where I could write for two days and still lose sleep that I’m not doing this band justice.
Here’s what you need to know:
Magic Giant is a bombastic, brilliant act hailing from Los Angeles. They have drawn comparisons to Edward Sharpe, Jason Mraz, Mumford and Sons, Walk the Moon, Imagine Dragons, and the Lumineers-- and while you love all those bands, they aren’t quite right. No one act alone sounds like Magic Giant. I’d pose that none of those bands have the deceiving depth that Magic Giant possess.
Austin Bisnow is the lead vocalist of this eclectic trio, and juggles cello, synthesizers, and percussion while singing. Zambricki Zi plays banjo, fiddle, viola, cello, harmonica, mandolin, octave mandolin, acoustic guitar, dobro, lap steel, and also sings. Brian “Zang” Zaghi adds acoustic guitar, cello, bass, more percussion, and more vocals. Zang is a mean salsa dancer. (The band also seems to perform frequently with DJ AJK on drums.) Can we just pause for just a moment? That is a LOT of instruments that require a lot of talent. You can’t half-ass a cello. With all of that noise, the band’s name could not be more perfect-- their ethereal sound is enormous.
Magic Giant is also on the move. This SXSW is their third, making them all veterans. They’ve toured with Mike Posner and Beats Antique, and have conquered stages at Electric Forest and Lightning in a Bottle.
In 2016, the boys converted a shuttle bus into a solar-powered, mobile, recording studio. It has a California King that they’d hooked up on hydraulics. In a press release, Zaghi said, that with that bus they "recorded anywhere and everywhere. There were no ceilings or limits to what we could capture.”
And your last nugget for the day is Zi reportedly got hit by a car in junior high and fell into a coma. Thanks (?) to a rare brain trauma reorganization, known as Acquired Savant Syndrome, when he awoke he learned to play violin in four goddamn days. He has been quoted as saying, “If I could go back, I’d throw myself in front of the car.”
Let that quote stand as a perplexing preview of the band as a whole. Magic Giant is a blissful, hilarious, approachable, talented (SO TALENTED) band that will take this entire nation by storm if we let them. They are destined for the biggest stages at Coachella and Austin City Limits. I mean, they’ve already won over SXSW-- as they’ll be playing the Moody Theater this Tuesday, ahead of Wu Tang Clan and Thievery Corporation.
For god’s sake, fall in love with them now.
