Photo by Jen McManus

Year after year, thousands of starry-eyed, nimble-fingered musicians make their way to prestigious schools around the country to study music. The alumni rosters are long and impressive, boasting some of the world's finest, most technically proficient musicians, armed with the ability to read chart music with greater ease than an adult reading Dr. Seuss, rip through instrumental solos with the speed of a computer's central processing unit, and suitably compliment the most professional ensembles in a multitude of international genres. Yet as great as these acquired skills may be, it is something else altogether to craft a meaningful, memorable pop song. A handful of basic chords can easily be strung together by the most novice musician, but a beautiful melody and touching lyrics cannot be charted. Mountains of ability go into interpretation, but the art of creation is intangible.

Brooklyn-based indie rock trio The World Without Magic has an ace up their sleeve, lead singer and principal songwriter Patrick Bower. What makes the songwriting of John Lennon and Elvis Costello unique? What it is about their simple chord arrangements that have inspired generations? Although stylistically straightforward, Bower's songwriting has a similar indefinable quality, defined by the power to make ordinary surroundings shine.

Lyrically, Bower's inspiration comes from the simplest, most natural place: the experiences in his own life. "Like any warm-blooded artist, I write to survive," says Bower. Through music he seemingly employs the therapeutic, cathartic exercise of journaling life through art - the vital act of sharing emotions and experiences. Bower sings modestly about life, love and living. "The songs deal with the big subjects," Bower says, "Man v. Man (or woman), Man v. Nature, Man v. Himself. In other words, I write about girls."

Bower believes "the listening experience [is] as insular and private as the writing experience." Although he says the best setting to listen to TWWM is "in your headphones while walking over the Williamsburg Bridge in autumn," the band’s live performances are not to be missed. Bower's friendliness and warmth off-stage translate into a soft radiance on-stage. He is an exceptional vocalist, but not so much for technical prowess as an effortless and naturally radiating, unmistakably real delivery. When Bower sings it's as if being interlocked in conversation with a good friend. A good friend with a great voice.

According to Bower, TWWM "really [does] function as a band. The songs, though I write them, are thoroughly defiled by each member until it becomes something else entirely. Like a baby with webbed feet or The Chucacubra." Live, The World Without Magic is a three-piece rock band. Bower's longtime musical accomplice Chris Egan plays drums (Egan can also be found behind the kit with Adam Green, The Shorebirds, Neckbeard Telecaster, and Joe and the Flying Spoons) and rounding out the trio on bass is Darren Will. The band's new single, "In The Light," is exemplary of TWWM's sound. One can imagine Bower working out the chords and lyrics behind an acoustic guitar before bringing the bones of the song to the band for fleshing out and atmospheric color. The simple chord structure branches into a minimal arrangement driven by long ringing reverbed-Fender twang, upbeat, strolling drums and steady bass, and temporarily prominent synth accompaniment. The song goes through several dynamic movements, all the while maintaining a warm glow. Repeat listens are in order.

TWWM currently has available one EP and one single, which can be found on iTunes and the band's MySpace page, respectively. Plans to record a full-length album are in the works. Patrick Bower also has a solo record available, Beach Closed, now on iTunes and due out on vinyl in late September. The album will be released on TWWM's own label, FunFact.

With an almost overwhelming abundance of competition and a crumbling industry, it's difficult for bands to survive. "Nobody's making money," Bower says. "I've got broke friends putting out their own records and broke friends on major labels." Bower believes that "the only hope for success is finding a very solid niche. These days, the more idiosyncratic your music, the better. The middle road is glutted." Lucky for those good souls with unwavering belief in the mystical powers of melody and the art of song, The World Without Magic rides a road less traveled.

The World Without Magic is a familiar place; a calm and safe haven in a hyper-amped world; a steady guiding hand in a turbulent crowd; a peaceful, cloud covered late-October Sunday. It's as simple and real as a quiet park bench, and as vitalizing as the soft, cool breeze sweeping across the fields. To the ancients, the wind and stars were unimaginable. Does scientific knowledge make these things any less magical? When asked if there were anything he'd like people to know about his band, Bower replied, "I think our name says it all."