‘Oceans’ is a single from Brooklyn musician Magana. Originally by CHUCK, from his Frankenstein Songs For The Grocery Store LP, Magana takes the ache and hurt of ‘Oceans’ back to its core. Loose and frail, the melancholic refrain of “Pretty young girls, oceans of sound / It’s so annoying when you’re not around” rings in your ears well beyond the song’s scant running time. It’s a post-modern romance, filled with long days, long distance, self-care, self-destruction and deep expression through impersonal means.

Born in Bakersfield, California, Jeni Magaña grew up playing classical music on clarinet and upright bass before a move to Berklee College in Boston, where she began writing her own songs. Upon relocation to New York she began working with a variety of bands and even found herself recording a number of commercial jingles and working as a session musician, all the while developing her own sound. This eclectic route has shaped Magana as a musician and a songwriter and these experiences shine through. Her gift for creative, layered and genre-bending composition is so apparent. Her voice, full of ghosts, slips effortlessly from a whisper to a scream.

Magana recently issued her debut EP Golden Tongue on South London/ NYC’s Audio Antihero Records: a brief but breathless collection of brittle and erratic guitar pop. These beautifully weary songs, found acclaim and support all across the blogosphere and independent music press and radio, as well as here at Musos’ Guide.

A parting gift from Charles Griffin Gibson, Frankenstein Songs for the Grocery Store is his final release as CHUCK, and a charming farewell it is.

Opting not to flip the table or reinvent the wheel on this record, all 15 tracks possess a touch of lo-fi and twee as Gibson's candid lyrics narrate DIY soundscapes. Like extended and produced vocal recordings, the tracks give snapshots into the life and / or imagination of the writer as they're spoken softly in your ear. The minimal and almost discordant nature of the music won't be to everyone's tastes, but the sincerity is endearing even is the guitar playing isn't virtuoso. 

'Bodies (Studio)' is an acoustic ballad, 'Hudson' is a wavering instrumental, 'Bulldog [Interlude]' is just that, and 'Meow' is a jangling indie rock number. Then 'Oceans (Electric)' drones and 'Caroline' yearns, each track possesses a unique identity and the record jumps from gear to gear as you traverses each of these in turn. Described as a "bedroom musician" this mish-mash of tracks makes sense, although there's no doubting CHUCK could be something clean and coherent if that's the intention. 

Fun to listen to in full or in parts, Frankenstein Songs for the Grocery Store is a fitting closing fanfare for CHUCK as it showcases a variety of influences and styles, wrapping up the story in a comprehensive way. Whilst this is the last of this moniker, hopefully the mind of Gibson will dabble in music again soon. 

Frankenstein Songs for the Grocery Store is available now from iTunes and Amazon.