Magazine's final studio album,
Magic, Murder and the Weather, finds
Dave Formula's washes of cold, brittle keyboards dominating the bitter and cynical music. Occasionally,
Howard Devoto's weary lyrics surface through the icy mix, but it's clear that
Devoto and
Magazine have both had better days. It's not a graceful way to bow out, but the album has enough strong moments to prevent it from being an embarrassment as well. [The expanded and remastered edition, released in 2007, adds two bonus tracks: "In the Dark" and "The Operative."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine