Here is a ten track album from Canberra-based Rob Burgess who goes by the name of Magic Rob. He calls it 'alternative mystic folk' and I tend to agree with him. It sounds like Syd Barrett has been left with a dusty old Wizard's Manual for the afternoon and penned a whole record's worth of songs about dungeons...and dragons (okay, I couldn't actually hear any mention of d&d in the lyrics, but you get the idea).
Some party-pooper might shout out that Magic Rob can't actually hold a tune, but they'd be missing the point. This guy is the real thing – he's only singing about the spiritual darkness he resides in because he has to – it's his life, his home, his whole reason for being. Imagine if you heard some old sorcerer on top of a flaming mountain start humming a tune, he's not going to sound like Jeff Buckley, is he? Magic Rob's voice suits the songs and you may or may not like it - it's an acquired taste. The music is moody and dark – a little bit Syd-era Floyd, early Bowie, even – and, like the vocals, suits the mystical genre Magic Rob plays. -ND
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