Tiny Magnetic Pets

.. Tiny Magnetic Pets
SCENE (The Star) June 12th, 2009
Paula Gilmer and Sean Quinn have made a stunning debut of wistful and etheral electro pop with avant garde experimentalism.
Paula’s sweet vocals give the likes of “Girl In A White Dress” and “I Wasn’t Here” an angelic quality, but there is a devil in tracks such as “Tempelhof” and “Spaced” that electronic music fans will love.
And “Control Me” hints at big room dancefloor remixes that could win them even more fans.
4 stars
- Mark Kavanagh
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METRO June 11th, 2009
An atmosphere of dull worthiness has always permeated Irish electronica. Though there’s lots to admire about artists such as Si Schroeder and Halfset, the uncomfortable truth is that, even at their most beguiling, the majority of laptop tinkerers in this country are only a few beats away from sending you into peaceful doze. Happily, no such accusations can be rested at the door of Tiny Magnetic Pets, a hook-up between vocalist Paula Gilmer (who has shared stage time with Prodigy and The Script) and Sean Quinn (not the insurance guru obviously – he previously recorded as Electric Penguins). From the swooshing melody of opener Tempelhof to the sugar-plumb twinkle of single Girl In A White Dress, here is a homegrown electronica LP with a difference: you can actually imagine people dancing to it at a club or singing along to it on the radio, rather than simply playing it in the background as they brood in their bed-sits.
Then again, to be strictly accurate, it isn’t an electronic album – whilst the ambiance is pure Kraftwerk circa 1978, the project was actually put together live, using retro Moog synths, a mellotron, vox organ and guitar. But who wants to get hung up on details? Return Of... has bundles of heart and soul – and that, ultimately, is all that really counts.
4 stars
- Eamon de Paor
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SUNDAY BUSINESS POST June 7, 2009
Irish electronica has down the years tended to suffer from the same basic lack of credibility as Italian hip-hop and German reggae (a hangover from the total domination of our music scene by leather-trousered rock since U2 became huge in the mid-1980s). Certainly, you’d be hard pushed to think of more than a handful of worthwhile records within the genre to come out of this country. Well, here’s one – and it’s not merely worthwhile, but among the most impressive releases of the year so far, Irish or otherwise.
Steeped in oozingly plangent Moog, Mellotron and Vox organs, Return Of The Tiny Magnetic Pets takes its cues from mid-period Kraftwerk, the serene melancholia of Saint Etienne and the deceptively placid instrumentals on side two of David Bowie’s Low (opening track Tempelhof is another nod to Bowie’s Berlin period, named after the city’s airport). Cosmodrome is a sublime piece of fantastically gooey synth-splurge, while the gentle metronomic ticking and chocolate-box melody of A Faraway Sea call to mind Air circa Moon Safari.
The duo have their darker moments, such as the Portishead-meets-Spiritualized drone of Spaced, but the vast majority of the record is suffused in an air of inexorable, pulsing tranquility. It’s a great listen, and hopefully far from being a one-off.
4 Stars
– Jonathan O’Brien
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EVENING ECHO REVIEW June 4, 2009
They are back and they are as psychedeliced-out as ever with this experimental album laden with killer sounds and retro arrangements. If there is one gripe it’s this – the summer’s here and we are all beginning to wind down and de-stress and like all those who blazed the electronica path before them, this takes a bit of time and a bit of brain-engaging to really get into. But with nods to legends such as Air, Stereolab, Pink Floyd, Kraftwerk and Goldfrapp, it’s one of those albums you just got to keep playing once you get a feel for it. The duo from France, Air have done much to keep the spirit of the genre alive. So if the sunny weather goes away don’t worry, you can immerse yourself in this one.
5 Stars
– Kieran Dineen
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ROAD RECORDS REVIEW - May 2009
Tiny Magnetic Pets are a new electronic synth pop outfit based around the songwriting skills of Irish pair Paula Gilmer and Sean Quinn. This is their debut release for Irish label Psychonavigation, home to RSAG amongst others. Sean Quinn is one of the main songwriters in Electric Penguins whilst Gilmer has released tracks on the Ministry Of Sound label along with being a former member of a band with Mark Sheehan from the Script. The band recorded this album entirely live in the studio using tons of old analog equipment.
The resulting album falls somewhere between the classic electronic sounds of Kraftwerk and pulsating eighties electro pop. It’s a beautifully melodic collection of laid back electronic pop sounds with a bit of everything from Stereolab to Goldfrapp in here.
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"That is just gorgeous!" (Girl In A White Dress)
- Dan Hegarty: RTE 2FM
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PLAYING THE MAGNETIC FIELD
"Most electro acts these days are mining the 80s for their synth pop poses, but Irish duo Tiny Magnetic Pets are delving further back along the Autobahn with their krautrock-inspired compositions. Sean Quinn and Paula Gilmer have just completed their debut album ‘Return Of The Tiny Magnetic Pets’ and the official launch is in Whelan’s in Dublin on May 7th.
Composed entirely on vintage analogue Moogs, Mellotron and Vox organs, the ambitious album is already being compared with the likes of STEREOLAB, KRAFTWERK and AIR.
Stunning
All instrumentation and vocals were recorded live, so expect a stunning performance from the duo at the album launch - and they’re playing the Roisin Dubh in Galway this Friday, May 1st, with HALFSET.
The debut album is released on May 22nd, but if you can’t wait, check them out live or have a sneak MySpace peek".
- THE STAR 29th April
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"Paula Gilmer & Seán Quinn’s 12 track collection blends influences such as Eno, Krautrock, Goldfrapp & Massive Attack into a refreshingly fragile soundtrack for summer 2009.
The sense of musical adventure combined with Gilmer’s tender vocal delivery on tracks such as the infectious single “Girl In A White Dress” make this a definite contender for the Irish album of 2009".
- Mark Kavanagh: HOT PRESS
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"Paula Gilmer and Sean Quinn’s new rig-out combines Krautrock grooves, 1970s electronica and oddball pop hooks".
- Jim Carroll: IRISH TIMES
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