Magic Fig: Valerian Tea [Album Review]

Magic Fig
Valerian Tea
Exploding In Sound Records [2025]

“A cosmic Canterbury dream! Valerian Tea brews classic psych into something unmistakably new.”

Album Overview: Canterbury Scene psychedelic-prog heads unite—San Francisco’s Magic Fig is here to pour a nice, relaxing, odyssey-driven cup of their debut Valerian Tea. Magic Fig is a stacked lineup featuring Inna Showalter (vocals/mellotron), Jon Chaney (keys), Muzzy Moskowitz (guitar), Matthew Ferrara (bass), and Taylor Giffin (drums)—names you’ll recognize from The Umbrellas, Healing Potpourri, Almond Joy, Whitney’s Playland, and Blades of Joy. Valerian Tea takes comfort in its influences but doesn’t feel like a direct rip-off. In fact, thanks to the production of Joel Robinow (Fire Note favorites—Once and Future Band), the album lands like a UFO in pastoral England.

Musical Style: You can’t get away without referencing the Canterbury Scene, a kaleidoscopic blend of jazz, rock, and psychedelia from the late 1960s and early 1970s. The album darts between calming church organ and cosmic guitars that seem to battle for the fate of the universe. It plays like Alice in Wonderland, but instead of simply falling down the rabbit hole, you oscillate between that and a black hole.

Evolution of Sound: While the group has only released one self-titled EP, their full-length feels like a cohesive project. The EP is a collection of one-off song ideas that point toward Valerian Tea. The album is interesting in that it does have some EP energy—mainly because several songs are one-minute intros that act as connective tissue. This approach always keeps you engaged and gives the album real motion, adding a surprising layer of growth.

Artists with Similar Fire: In much of the band’s promo, acts like Soft Machine and Caravan come up. The group also hovers around the cosmic stylings of King Crimson, Pink Floyd, and David Bowie. In a more modern psychedelic context, you hear snippets of Frankie and the Witch Fingers in their flowery period. Osees show up through their mid-catalog organ antics. I also hear towering moments reminiscent of Goon’s shoegaze/psychedelic excursions on their newest release Dream 3. The band further draws influence from the Australian psych scene, including Tame Impala and Pond.

Pivotal Tracks: From the first track, “Flammarion,” the album makes a strong argument for your attention. It starts out cosmic, drawing from French astronomer Camille Flammarion’s metaphysical writings. “At the Garden’s Gate” brings a bit of Rush-like flair when the trio leans into Ren Faire rock. With instrumentation that twinkles in the twilight, it’s a real “theater of the mind” moment. The title track is fun, but it’s the trio of “Splinter,” “Goblin,” and “Sleep of Reason” that really brings the record home. “Splinter” begins the descent through a technicolor tunnel swirling with keys, thick strummed chords, warm wah-wah, and Showalter’s childlike singsong delivery. “Sleep of Reason” is a dreamy navigation that lands a fantastic and intentional Dark Side of the Moon homage.

Lyrical Strength: Magic Fig has essentially written a Renaissance-meets-science-fiction journey that occasionally reads like a self-help parable. “Flammarion,” again, is based on the writings of a French astronomer. The title track references the calming nature of kindness and the ability to work through troubles. “Goblin” digs into the fickleness of inspiration and the dangers of being inauthentic to yourself.

Final Groove: Magic Fig’s Valerian Tea introduces the group in a way that’s going to be hard to forget. Every major track holds a small variation on a familiar psych theme, but Magic Fig plays the album like a joyful, triumphant battle between classic and modern stylings. The structure of short intros leading into full song blocks sets the record up for an exhilarating experience that the band controls effortlessly. While it isn’t trying to ape its predecessors (and really, how could it?), it’s definitely distilling a potent brew that will satisfy nearly any fan of the genre. Pour Magic Fig into your cup, because this album continues to go down smooth, pour after pour.

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