When the "lo-fi," amateurishly recorded aesthetic became popular in the Indie world, some of the charm was lost, as musicians began to go for a "sound," missing out on the fact that the appeal of the recordings was more in the uncomplicated way they were presented. Lo-fi originators/popularizers constructed songs on their four-track recorders with seemingly no sense that they would ever reach the public. With technological advances, even demos can now have studio sheen, but Junk Train, the debut from The Magic Words (aka Lisa Walker of Cincinnati's Wussy) captures the grounded, primitive nature of lo-fi's best. Walker began the project as a means to write new songs for Wussy, but soon realized she had an affinity for her initial tapes. The recording quality adds a sense of mystery and immediacy, much like PJ Harvey's amazing 4-Track Demos CD. On "Loaded For Bear," Walker mixes in remedial computer quirks and beats over simple acoustic strums, while she layers her smoky, distorted vocals like early Elliott Smith. The unselfconsciousness of the recording is reflected in Walker's engaging vocals, which sometimes crack and waver fittingly on emotional songs like "Mayflies" and the mangy "Watch Yer Back," which is built on a grungy, noisy guitar riff that apes the clinched-fist vengeance of the lyrics ("It's time the rites were read/This is better left for dead/I heard things you said"). Fidelicists might not be able to get past the bareness, but music fans who love good songwriting presented as intimate as a whisper in your ear will relish Junk Train's pragmatic aura. (Cincinnati CityBeat - Mike Breen) Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.