Here We Go Magic Ready to Release 'Pigeons'

When Here We Go Magic frontman Luke Temple was trying to come up with a name for the band's second full-length, he started throwing around the word "pigeons." Temple liked how pigeons are everywhere in cities, although no one ever really notices them. "Pigeons are this underrated, underdog-like bird," Temple tells Spinner. "I think of ourselves as that."

With the release of 'Pigeons' on June 13, Here We Go Magic may graduate from buzzworthy underdogs to the indie elite. The album follows last year's acclaimed self-titled debut, a collection of psychedelic folk tunes that landed the band an opening slot on Grizzly Bear's US tour last summer.

Although Here We Go Magic started gaining attention last year, Temple has been releasing solo material under his own name, including 2007 folk-pop gem 'Snowbeast,' for nearly a decade. He was about to issue 'Here We Go Magic' as a vinyl-only release when he had a sneaking suspicion and decided to release the disc on indie label Western Vinyl.

"I had this feeling about the music, and decided it deserved a proper release," says Temple. "It felt like the right time to do this. To everyone else it might seem like it came out of nowhere, but I've been making music like this for 10 years."

The album's success led to the band's signing with Secretly Canadian, a label in which "everyone is very relatable and seems like they're coming from the right place musically," according to Temple. With the addition of Peter Hale, Michael Bloch, Kristina Lieberson and Jennifer Turner as permanent members, Here We Go Magic became a proper band and recorded 'Pigeons' surrounded by mountains in Catskills, N.Y. from last August to November.

Leading up to the album release, Here We Go Magic will continue touring North America with White Rabbits before opening for the New Pornographers on their European trek. The band will also perform at festivals like Primavera Sound Festival, Bonnaroo and Pitchfork Music Festival, and will embark on a headlining trek later this year.

Based on new album track 'Collector,' currently streaming on the band's MySpace, 'Pigeons' promises to be a fuller record with more polished production values. Despite his band's whirlwind year and heightened expectations, Temple thinks that the album's quality has silenced any potential anxiety.

"I sometimes feel the pressure, but now that it's finished, I just think it's going to do well," he says. "There will be some haters out there, but the right people are going to 'get' it."