US dream-pop duo Magic Wands have released a new EP entitled ‘Wishing Well’ today (24th April) on Metropolis Records. It includes the singles ‘Sacred Mirrors’ (a collaboration with Psychedelic Furs guitarist John Ashton) and ‘Wishing Well’, a remastered version of the 2024 single ‘Hide’, a remix of ‘Golden’ (from their 2025 album ‘Cascades’), plus the brand new songs ‘Starline’ and ‘Yesterday’s Dream’.
“‘Starline’ is a push-and-pull between fear and surrender, burning like something you can’t quite hold,” the band explain. “It’s about longing, release and the moment of truth. As the lyric states, ‘will you run’ or ‘can I stay?’” With a growing emotional intensity, the song builds into a powerful realisation: when everything else falls away, there’s ‘nothing left but love’.
‘Sacred Mirrors’ YouTube and ‘Wishing Well’ lyric video have both been issued in 2026. The former is built around an instrumental track by John Ashton, a self-professed fan of Magic Wands. He sent it to the duo, who added further guitar, keyboards, percussion, lyrics and vocals. The latter has an insistent rhythm, swirling guitars, plus a vocal that adds to its hazy atmosphere. It sounds like an immediate post-punk meets shoegaze classic.
WISHING WELL TRACKLIST
1 Starline
2 Wishing Well
3 Sacred Mirrors
4 Yesterday’s Dream
5 Hide (Remaster)
6 Golden (’26 Mix)
Originally formed in Nashville, but now based in Los Angeles, Magic Wands are the duo of vocalists/guitarists Dexy and Chris Valentine. Renowned for a shimmering, dreamy sound that melds elements of shoegaze, dream-pop, post-punk and goth, their music utilises heavily textured guitars, synth drones and ethereal vocals to conjure an otherworldly atmosphere.
Their current album, ‘Cascades’, was released in October 2025. It explores transformation, reflection and the pull of distant horizons. Imbued with the spirit of centuries-old poetry, gothic romance and myth, its celestial mood bridges the sound of their 2012 debut album, ‘Aloha Moon’, with more recent releases.
“Amid the cacophony of today’s world, Magic Wands emerges like a whisper in the wind; a spellbinding blend of sound that feels both familiar and foreign”
POST-PUNK
“Moody and atmospheric. For maximum effectiveness, listen to it at dusk with a single candle lit ****”
SPILL MAGAZINE
“Both familiar and quietly bold, a record that walks that razor-thin line between dream-pop and gothic atmosphere. A slow, smoky invocation 4.5/5”
CHAIN D.L.K.