REVIEWS
If you’re looking for something quintessentially classic rock with a twist of retro Americana with an English accent, check out Magic Ship's debut album --Classic Rock Magazine

If you fancy cruising through guitar shaped soundscapes of two fisted classic rock with a catchy pop topping and tunes that leave a flaming trail of bourbon, diesel and desert dust in their wake - treat yourself with a trip to the 'Love Tel Motel' - this album is going to be the soundtrack to summer for me and I would guess anyone who hears the Magic Ship shaking their rocks off. --Planet Mondo

A solid, rocking debut from Magic Ship. Toss together some Rolling Stones, Oasis, and and healthy dose of attitude. Standout is "Headaches and Heartaches". --Portland Tribune

It s obvious from the outset that these guys know their stuff, they are experienced musicians with an in-depth knowledge of music. As they storm through this blistering, riff laden, 10 track album there are nods to everyone from the Stones and the Faces to the Byrds and Neil Young. From the Black Crowes to Oasis and even the Fratellis. Vocally, they evoke comparisons to Mark Lanegan, Joe Cocker and Leon Russell. But don t go thinking this is some pseudo sound-a-like album, Magic Ship are much smarter than that. There is a restrained light touch on all the influences... a dash of Lynyrd Skynyrd, a drop of Tom Petty, a sprinkling of Primal Scream... What comes out is 100% Magic Ship. So if you re looking for a bona fide rocker to see you through the (long?! hot?!) summer, Magic Ship could be just the band for you Gawd bless er, and all who sail in her! --Piley

In the beginning, it was just a Monday night thing. It was a bit of a hobby, a bit of a crack. Cranking out a few tunes for a few hours in the rehearsal studios once a week made a nice change from spending another evening down the pub. It’s kind of getting more serious for Magic Ship now, though. Because the London four-piece have released an album called “LoveTel Motel” and it’s a stormer. Magic Ship pinched their name from a song by 1970s bluesmen Free – and that should give you an idea of where this group is coming from. There’s a hint of The Faces and a dash of Mott The Hoople in their music. There’s a light dusting of The Allman Brothers and a sniff of Lynyrd Skynyrd. They’re not out-and-out dad rockers, mind. There are also plenty of pop tones in there and some of them are decidedly 21st Century. Yet for every melodic guitar hook and catchy chorus, you can be sure there is something gritty, something raunchy, something dirty lurking right around the corner. Magic Ship seem to specialise in dirty. Most of the people staying at the “LoveTel Motel” sign the register as Mr and Mrs Smith. “LoveTel Motel” opens with the frantic neck-jerker that is “Fly!” and, before you know it, careers straight into “Headaches And Heartaches”, a swing-along on-the-road saga. The title track is an equally breathless frug, but the dark, twisted, half-whispered “Lucky Lost” and the whimsical “Black Holes Don’t Eat Everything” bring a marked drop in pace. Here and there, in finest Bo Diddley fashion, there are several autobiographical references to Magic Ship, a couple of them in the acoustic “Lifeboats For The Dead”, which sees the group in a more obviously reflective mood than elsewhere on the album. The epic “Monkeyphonic Alphabets” is meanwhile the sort of song that David Crosby might have written if he’d spent 1973 as an 13-year-old haring around the streets of West London on a Raleigh Chopper with a big Sherbet Fountain in his pocket, instead of sitting between Stills and Nash trying to stop them knocking seven shades out of each other. It all adds up to a mighty fine debut. It’s no wonder that a lot of people are saying a lot of nice things about “LoveTel Motel”. If it carries on like this, Magic Ship are soon going to be busy on Tuesday nights too. --Push