Over the past six years, The Magic Gang’s Jack Kaye has reflected, reconciliated and collaborated with others, while also starting a family and rediscovering his voice. He’s now set to release his debut solo EP, ‘Go Easy’, on 14 August, 2026. The five songs featured here vary from character-based storytelling to self-examination and forlorn romances.

There’s a touch of Tom Petty or Cheap Trick in the power-pop opener, ‘Dora’. As it moves into more of an Americana sound, Jack sings about lost love – seeing ‘a different person holding your arms’ – and how painful it is to see someone you care about being wooed by ‘an actual piece of work’. ‘The Weight’ follows with wonky bass and pop hooks that recall Jack’s old band as he evaluates his past behaviour: ‘I used to shift the blame and push away the people that called my name’.

‘If I Need Love’ has a darker edge with Jack declaring ‘I don’t need that shit in my life’, before the 2-minute ‘Big Blue Eyes’ offers some tender reassurance: ‘Don’t you cry, dry those big blue eyes, don’t you lose no sleep over me’. ‘Emma’ closes the EP with Lemon Twigs-meets-Big Star melodies and a powerful story of love at its core: ‘Emma, I’ve been worshipping at your altar for too long. My knees hurt, I’m done, when are you gonna call?’

‘Go Easy’ is an EP that shows Jack Kaye has not lost the Magic touch when it comes to writing instantly lovable indie-pop.