[SURF SNARK] At first glance, Mrs. Magician might sound like just another West Coast surf-pop throwback. Take a second listen. Past the Brian Wilson melodies and heavy employment of whammy bars you’ll find a band that’s much darker and funnier than its sunny jangles first let on. That’s not to say the ’60s surfer thing is just an affectation: The San Diego group’s 2012 debut LP, Strange Heaven, produced by Hot Snakes’ and Rocket From the Crypt’s John Reis and released on his Swami Records label, is first and foremost a fantastic pop album, each of its dozen songs solidly constructed with sweet choruses; clap-along beats; and fuzzy, psych-y guitar breaks—and all 12 equally catchy as hell. It’s just that instead of singing about catching waves and girls, singer Jacob Turnbloom beatifically croons lines such as “Oooh, oooh, ooh-ooh, fuck the world” and “Whoa-whoa-whoa-a-whoa, woman’s prison, that’s where my baby lives” in songs with names like “There is No God” and “I’m Gonna Hangout With the Lesbians Next Door and Drop Acid.” SUMMARY;ENCODING=QUOTED-PRINTABLE:Mrs. Magician, Charts PRIORITY:3END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR