Magnet Hill by People Skills: A Lo-Fi Rock Punch to the Gut
Alright, let’s get one thing straight—Magnet Hill isn’t here to coddle you with shiny production or overblown solos. This 2019 Swedish gem from People Skills is raw, unfiltered lo-fi rock that feels like it was recorded in someone’s basement during a power outage—and honestly? That’s what makes it slap so hard. Released under I Dischi Del Barone and mastered by Sean McCann (who clearly knows how to keep things gritty), this album doesn’t waste time trying to impress snobs. It just hits.
First off, let’s talk about “Three Smiling Dogs In A Dream.” What even is that title? Sounds like something scribbled on a napkin at 3 AM after too much cheap wine. But damn if this track doesn’t stick to your brain like gum on a hot sidewalk. The guitars are all fuzzy distortion, like they borrowed Kurt Cobain’s pedalboard and forgot to give it back. There’s no grand chorus or fancy breakdowns—just a hypnotic groove that drags you along for the ride. You can practically smell the stale coffee and cigarette smoke while listening. It’s messy, chaotic, and kinda beautiful in its own weird way. If this song were a person, it’d be the guy at the party who spills beer on your shoes but somehow ends up being the most interesting dude there.
Then there’s “Summer 1978,” which might as well be called “Nostalgia Bomb Goes Off In Your Face.” This track slaps harder than a mosquito on steroids. It starts slow, almost dreamy, like you’re cruising down some dusty road in a beat-up convertible. But then BAM—it kicks into gear with these jagged riffs that feel like nostalgia gone wrong. Like, yeah, summer vibes, but also the kind where you remember getting stung by bees as a kid. The whole thing has this lazy swagger to it, like People Skills couldn’t care less if you love it or hate it. And honestly? That attitude works.
The rest of the album keeps the same vibe going—“Magnet Hill A” and “B” are basically two sides of the same coin, both drenched in reverb and attitude. Nothing groundbreaking, sure, but sometimes you don’t need groundbreaking. Sometimes you just need music that punches you in the chest and says, “Feel me.”
So yeah, Magnet Hill isn’t perfect. Hell, it’s not even trying to be. But maybe that’s why it sticks around in your head long after the last note fades. Listening to it feels like finding an old mixtape in the bottom of a drawer—you don’t know who made it or why, but it speaks to you anyway.
And hey, fun fact: Did you know magnet hills are real? They’re these bizarre natural illusions where gravity seems to pull cars uphill instead of down. Kinda poetic when you think about it—this album messes with your expectations in the exact same way. Fucked up, right?
