In comparison to many of the tracks off Nearly Man, The Magician is a lot more downbeat, but why not change the format. Trying to produce a second album that is different than your first one, can be incredibly difficult; do you completely change your style and risk alienating fans who loved what you did, or do you produce an album that is a carbon copy of the first one, that leads critics to argue that you’re stagnating and have merely showcased a load of b-side material that sounds as though it has been scrapped off the cutting room floor.

Fortunately from what Mike Marlin has done with The Magician, fears of losing his audience or standing still are far from the mark. Even though Mike is one album in, The Magician clearly sounds and feels like a Mike Marlin track. Mike’s vocals which are wonderfully Bowie-esque are still there, as is the lovely layered music with backing vocal accompaniment. The opening builds with a synthed echo and guitar, before Mike and the sound of an organ reach the ear, the drum and piano pattern in as the whole track begins to build to a soaring chorus, although remembering that everything is downbeat in style. There is a wistful melancholy about The Magician, although the build to the soaring chorus moments make it magically entrancing. As Mike sings “don’t leave me hanging, with my arms open wide” and in this taster of what Man on the Ground has to offer, here’s hoping there will be plenty more arms to embrace his music.

Reviewed by Jimbo Walsh.

Mike Marlin's The Magician is out on 17 October 2011 and can pre-ordered along with his second album Man on the Ground, from Mike's website - you can even get him to sign it for you!

Updated: To include the excellent video below featuring some fantastic sleight of hand magicians at work.