Alexei Shishkin’s style is equal parts prolific and poignant. Bringing an improvisational air to the bedroom slacker pop sound of the ’90s and early 2000s, his ability to build intersectional compositions from jazz voicings, simple loops, and musings on daily life results in a cathartic rush of content that is nowhere near slowing down.
By embracing the rough edges and eschewing performance in favor of creation, his musically reclusive style has fed on itself and grown into a singular voice all its own. Following three releases in 2024, and his Play by Ear documentary (featuring Built to Spill, Pictoria Vark, Magic Sword, and The Shivas), Shishkin opted to do something different with his 11th full-length album, Good Times, creating the album from scratch in four days with Bradford Krieger at Big Nice Studio in Lincoln, Rhode Island.
Fresh off the release of Good Times on September 5, Shishkin’s artistry seems to be redefined, and “Magpie” is just a hint of the exploration enjoyed on the artist’s new release. The highlight from the new LP is a beautifully clunky piece of indie pop with the warmth of lo-fi, the freeing experimentation of a lab test gone right, and an unpredictability that keeps the listener fully engaged. Once you press play on “Magpie,” you are thrown into a world of Shishkin’s creation, one where every idea is welcomed. What starts as a nimble ballad slowly transforms into a swinging, jazzy outing, creating a jovial atmosphere that is simply inviting. The improvisation that went into creating “Magpie” is palpable in its final results. The stand-out tune from Good Times highlights the meticulous approach Shishkin brings to his rare brand of alt-pop, and it’s only the surface of the wonders held on the artist’s latest.
“‘Magpie’ was a really fun song to make. It started with an improvised melody on the little thumb kalimba (maybe it’s called a mbira, actually?) that I was recording on my phone while Brad (producer Bradford Krieger) was outside. His coming back into the studio and asking me if I want to “track that thing” is what you hear at the beginning of the song,” explains Shishkin. “We used that melody as the foundation, and I improvised lyrics about magpies as Brad pulled up a Google image search for ‘magpie facts,’ I believe. The cherry on top was Ivan Rodriguez’s incredible sax arrangements.”
