MAGIC DANCE – No Way To Surrender (2025) *HQ*
320_1 /// 320_2 /// HQ 1 /// HQ 2
Retro 80s geniuses MAGIC DANCE are back with ”No Way To Surrender”. Jon Siejka did it again – lyricist, producer, vocalist, guitarist, and keyboardist on these wonderful new tunes, assisted by various musicians.
Jon has gone in a slightly different direction with this release. The band always had upbeat songs, but lyrically the songs leaned dark and after the third album ‘Remnants‘, Jon embraced more horror elements with his other band The Runaway Wild, releasing an album and an EPs worth of material.
With ”No Way To Surrender”, the synth drenched tracks are back but this time with an upbeat, fight to survive theme that could easily be played over any number of ’80s action movie montages. The song titles alone convey the lyrical narrative. And I love it.
Opening track ‘Don’t Give Up’ delivers exactly what I expected. An upbeat, punchy synth drenched track with underlying guitars giving the song a bit of an edge. With ‘I’m Gonna Fight (Still Breathing)’, the guitars jump to the forefront. A pure rocker that exudes intensity. That never give up, take on the world spirit is infectious. One listen will make you either run faster on that treadmill or push the gas pedal a little harder.
While all of the tracks are great, there are a few I would like to highlight. ‘Point of No Return’ has unbridled urgency with the fastest tempo on the album. Love the use of keyboard effects that were similar to the ones he used in his previous track ‘The Mirror’. It’s subtle, but present.
The closing sax on ‘Blue Lights, Black Skies’, courtesy of Juan Torres Fernández is not overtly complex, but slides in at the end perfectly. Speaking of hired hands, there are several guitar players here to assist Jon. With no disrespect to any of them, I dug the solos that Benjamin Moore constructed on ‘I’m Gonna Fight’ and ‘Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Wilder’.
Finally, although it was initially released in November of last year, I still dig the hell out of ‘The Dead Boys’ after all this time. A song that never left my YouTube playlist, that sound similar to what he produced on Vanishings had me anticipating this album’s release. A top song for sure.
There are three ballads but the one that stood out the most was ‘Feels Like Goodbye’. My favorite ballad Jon previously recorded was ‘So Far Away From Home’, but this track tops it. The harmonies match with the keyboards and synths perfectly. The chorus consists of just a refrain of the title, but there’s so much passion to it that it’s all that is needed to be effective. Simply beautiful.
While I liked his side project The Runaway Wild, I was hoping for a return of this band and, after five years, I was not disappointed. Jon comes out swinging for the fences with this release and constructed some real belters and heartfelt numbers that exude passion in both extremes.
All previous fans will embrace this album. For those who have never heard of Magic Dance, certainly start with this album and support an artist who gives his all to his songs.
Highly Recommended
01 – Don’t Give Up
02 – No Way to Surrender
03 – I’m Gonna Fight (Still Breathing)
04 – Bigger, Stronger, Faster, Wilder
05 – Point of No Return
06 – Battle Lines
07 – I Know You Will Survive
08 – Back to the Sun
09 – Feels Like Goodbye
10 – The Dead Boys
11 – The Loveless Game
12 – Blue Lights, Black Skies
All Songs, Vocals, Synths & Programming by Jon Siejka
Mixed and Mastered by Jarek Musil
Guitar solos by Tim Mackey
Bass by Kevin Krug
Sax by Juan Torres Fernández
Pre order:
magicdance.bandcamp.com/
