New Orleans-based musician and songwriter Cypress Key brings decades of musical curiosity into Magazine and Jackson, a heartfelt rock and folk EP about growth, generational struggles, mistakes, and the uneasy process of starting over. Drawing from a history that stretches from punk and grunge to hip-hop, Afrobeat and stripped-back acoustic music, the project feels less like a fixed genre statement and more like an open-ended musical diary. At the end of the day, its biggest strength is the freedom to move between sounds.
“Hey Sunshine” opens the EP with immersive, fluid instrumentation, where glimmery textures float over deep bass and steady thumping beats. Cypress Key’s husky youthful voice gives the song an emotional tenderness, making the track feel intimate even as the arrangement carries a spacious dreaminess. It is a warm introduction to an artist who clearly values atmosphere as much as songwriting.
On the flip side, “Just a Fool” brings considerably more swagger. Glistening guitars cut through hard, heavy drums while Cypress Key delivers the vocal with a smug confidence and assured presence.
That versatility comes naturally from Cypress Key’s long musical journey, from an early performance at CBGB to touring with ThePests, working around Afrobeat, developing stripped-down acoustic hip-hop with Panda City, and eventually returning to New Orleans to take complete creative control. Playing drums, bass and keys while collaborating with other musicians, he has built Cypress Key around experimentation rather than limitation.
Magazine and Jackson ultimately feels like a snapshot of an imperfect but continually evolving life, where every new sound becomes another way of figuring things out.
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Review by: Naomi Joan