Magic Eight Ball/Baz Francis Music Review

Out all of the artists and bands out there to listen to, Magic Eight Ball and solo work by Baz Francis definitely should be added to the list. Originating in Southern England, the band officially started in 2006. The band members released their debut EP "A Peacock’s Tale," and the rest is history. They currently have three albums out, "Sorry We’re Late But We’re Worth The Wait" (2013), "Last Of The Old Romantics" (2014), and "Richest Men In The Graveyard" (2016). In the band, Baz Francis is the lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter. On top of being in Magic Eight Ball, Baz has also released a solo album called "Live at Molly Malone's/Los Angeles 2015." Now, he is looking forward to finishing his second solo album early this year.
 
As for beloved songs done by the band, there are many standouts. From the album "Sorry We’re Late But We’re Worth The Wait," "Russian Ballet" brings clean drum beats and a story about Baz’s experiences in St. Petersburg, and "Monkey Bars" expresses the feeling of nostalgia. From the album "Richest Men In The Graveyard,"  "Keep Me Out Of The Sunlight" takes listeners to a edgy, Halloween feel, the drumming in "Falling In Love's Like A Vampire" was killer (no pun intended), and the touching lyrics in "She’s Leaving" was paired up with strong vocals.
 
From "Last Of The Old Romantics," all of the songs tell the story of past and present romances between not only people but the world around them. The addition of legend Rik Mayall saying poetry was also a plus. My personal favorite song from that album is "California In The Fall" because of  its soulful nature.
 
In addition, the artistic music videos made to go along with the band’s songs such as "Keep Me Out Of The Sunlight" and "Russian Ballet" are incredible as well. In the interview I had with Baz, he said that he got a lot of his inspiration for his music videos from running  at night and thinking of ways to push himself out of his comfort zone. The  videos tell the stories of the songs through beautiful visualizations, and the concepts are all unique, especially when Baz gets hit repeatedly in the music video for "Come Get Your Kicks."
 
As for Baz’s solo album, it exhibits a personal look on his songs. His soulful vocals are prominent, which show Baz’s original interest in that music style before he went to rock. When I interviewed him about this album, he said when he listens to it, it brings him back to the night in Hollywood when he sang this album, and how incredible the experience was.
 
From my listening, Magic Eight Ball and solo work by Baz Francis are worth to check out. The general power pop (rock pop) genre really shows through in the music, and each musician involved is extremely talented. Look out for Baz’s second solo album coming up, and give all of the music from this review a listen!

‘Keep Me Out Of The Sunlight’ Music Video: https://youtu.be/8oMCYExgCyY
‘Come Get Your Kicks’ Music Video: http://youtu.be/a-L9utsLGKM
‘Russian Ballet’ Music Video: http://youtu.be/pT-4luUhYCo
‘Monkey Bars’ Music Video: http://youtu.be/e8NFUvMA-bM

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Samreen Siddiqui is a dedicated writer and reader. She also dabbles is fashion, traveling, and acting. One of her most passionate goals is to become an activist and spread awareness for important causes. }