The Magnets – Can You Feel It? There’s A Mesmerising Sound Of a Cappella Music In The Air @ The Garden Of Unearthly Delights – Adelaide Fringe Review

The Garden Of Unearthly Delights – The Factory, Tue 21 Feb.

This is not the first time that The Magnets have come to Adelaide. Oh, no. This in journey number five! And every time they have been there, this UK sextet have consistently blown away audiences with their outstanding a Cappella skills and their knack for making an already brilliant song even more so! Every sound you hear comes only from their mouths, and this year they have brought some absolutely stunning voices with them in a younger, new-look and almost entirely new line-up of gorgeous men that will simply make your ears melt – and maybe a heart or two as well.

Magnets stalwart, the gorgeously charming Scotsman Callum McIntosh opens the show with the Nina Simone classic Feelin’ Good before Billy Boothroyd celebrates his return to Adelaide with the crowd-pleasing Minnie The Moocher which created the sense from the onset that the audience is as much a part of this show as the performers themselves. Boothroyd continued with a heartfelt Adele’s Hello as the room dimmed to a spotlight and a soothing hum from four of the boys.

In what can only be described as a ‘holy shit’ moment, bass-man Duncan Sandilands had jaws dropping with his first uttered note of Together In Electric Dreams, although I must admit that it’s a slight shame that this muscle-bound man did not remove his shirt at any point during the night. Not even so much as a peek… but I digress.

Cheeky Welsh boy Michael Conway stopped everyone in their tracks with his stunning performance of Sam Smith’s Lay Me Down; his high-tenor falsetto voice soaring from the stage and caressing the hearts of the mesmerised audience members. For me, it was the icing on so many highlights throughout the night.

I can’t even begin to describe the skill and talent of Ball Zee. His solo moment to shine as he shares his sound check with his ‘vocal’ drum kit, turntable and double bass was sheer brilliance; highlighting the reason why he has been crowned UK Beatbox Champion no less than three times. Give the unassuming Ball Zee two microphones and he is truly mind-blowing. I wanted to see so much more of what he has to offer.

The charming and chatty Aussie boy Damion Scarcella, aided and abetted by Ball Zee, belted out a hilarious version of Aqua’s Barbie Girl with everything from reggae, opera, country, hip hop, big band Broadway. Scarcella’s take on Dolly Parton’s Jolene is lots of fun and incredibly amusing, while Uptown Funk was another highlight of the show, as was Jackson 5’s Can You Feel It? There was not a song in this set that I didn’t know and/or love!

With this current line-up of The Magnets being only a few months old, they are still finding their feet as a collective when it comes to smoothly interacting with each other and their audience, but I suspect it won’t take them long at all to crystallise into one symbiotic collective.

These boys are euphonically pleasing beyond their years and each one of them is a five star performer in their own right. Put them on your Fringe ‘must do’ list.

Copies of their latest CD Can You Feel It? are available after the show.

5 stars

Catherine Blanch

The Magnets – Can You Feel It? continues at The Garden Of Unearthly Delights – The Factory, at various times, until Sun 19 Mar.

Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.

#ADLfringe #GOUD17 #TheMagnets