Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Person A, review: ‘most affecting at his most minimal’

The 10-strong band led by Alex Ebert lean towards soupy jams on their latest album

Diminished: you hear the absence of former singer Jade Castrinos on Edward Sharpe's latest

David Smyth15 April 2016

Alex Ebert, the Californian hippy who trades as Edward Sharpe, and his band of slightly less merry pranksters are now down to a mere 10 after co-vocalist Jade Castrinos was sacked by email in 2014.

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros - Person A

He is joined by massed backing vocalists on the climactic gospel of Wake Up the Sun, and has never sounded more ambitious than on the seven-minute journey of Hot Coals.

Yet the absence of Castrinos’ bold voice does make this fourth album sound somewhat diminished, and Ebert seems to favour soupier jams over more straightforward, catchy tracks such as No Love Like Yours.

This time he’s most affecting at his most minimal, on the touching piano ballad Lullaby, and overall there’s surprisingly little here to bolster his band’s reputation for uplifting concerts.