M.A.G.S. Is Writing Music You Can Taste

By Mia Hughes


Elliott Douglas isn’t sure why the phrase “Say Things That Matter” popped into his head. It came to him suddenly as soon as he was in an airport before the pandemic, flying house to Los Angeles immediately after visiting family member. The rising artist otherwise referred to as M.A.G.S. (which doesn’t really stand for anything, yet he jokes that it’s Pot and Good Sex) had only just begun working on his second album, out August 13, however he knew instantly that he had its title.


“I just wanted to talk about real shit,” says Douglas, who has just turned 30. “I don’t sugarcoat things. I think that’s what folks are connected to in my music.” Right now, in a vastly different world, he’s set to release Say Things That Matter, one of the most refreshing, colorful, and simply fun indie-rock albums of the year.


Douglas grew up in Buffalo, New York, and his dad was a worship pastor. One of four siblings, he describes his childhood as “sheltered”; they were all homeschooled, and secular music and TV were heavily restricted. “I didn’t have a very good grasp of what was happening outdoors in the world for a long time,” he says. “[But] it was a wonderful environment for creativity, ‘cause I was able just give attention to myself. I was able to form my self-identity at a pretty young age.”


As a teen, he gravitated toward Christian punk and hardcore bands like Relient K and Underoath, which led him to Buffalo’s own punk scene. The opening show he attended was by a local musical group, This Day and Age. “It was that first time I can remember feeling the kick drum hit my chest,” he says with a smile. “I remember at the end of the show I began crying, because I had this moment of, this is what I wanna do, and I can visualize it. It’s possible.” From there on, he threw himself into music, drumming for any musical group that would have him. “It got to the point where it’s like, I don’t wanna do anything else. A lot of the companions I had at that point began drinking and going to parties, and I just wasn’t interested in [that]. I just had this laser give attention to music.”


A few many years and multiple bands later, Douglas was growing tired of his groups dissolving before ever making it big. His tastes were evolving, too; Travis Scott and Kendrick Lamar were making waves, and for the opening time, he lose his punk kid anti-radio prejudice and paid attention to hip-hop. Actually, he noticed it made a lot of sense to him. “I’ve habitually been able to draw a line between hardcore music and trap music, so I was immediately drawn to that. It’s like, oh, everything is sort of a breakdown, I’m down for that.” Inspired, Douglas felt like the time was right for something new, something entirely his own.


He launched M.A.G.S. In 2015 with the promising EP Cellophane, and in 2017 released his self-titled debut album — both lo-fi garage-rock affairs. After, he moved to L.A., Where he couch-surfed while working a hectic catering job. All of the while, his music was creeping across Spotify and YouTube, even a couple of TV placements (Shameless, Teen Mom, The Flash). Things were slowly bubbling, including his own creative ambitions.


As soon as time came to create Say Things That Matter, Douglas was inspired by both hip-hop and his growing interest in synthesizers to push his songwriting and production further. “There were plenty of times where I was sitting there with some crazy synthesizer patch, and I was like, is this also much? Is this self-indulgent?” He says. “I saw this video of David Bowie talking on some late-night show, and he basically mentioned if the music you’re making doesn’t scare you, you’re doing it wrong.” Still, he kept his scrappy background close to heart. “I still like to hear the raw, natural tones. I don't like to overproduce things. However I wanted it to be a little bit more elevated. It might have the energy and attitude of punk, yet have more colors.”


Recording everything himself, the pandemic forced him to work from his cramped apartment next to a busy street as a substitute opposed to indoors a studio as he’d proposed. It was far less than ideal, however he channeled the agitation into learning about digital production and programming. “I’ve habitually had the DIY-or-die mentality, so I’m routinely gonna find a way,” he says.


Say Things That Matter is a reflective album, inspired by the personalized changes Douglas was facing. He was going through a breakup, and he explores the internal conflict that stoked on tracks like “Smile” and “Choked Out.” Meanwhile, the yearning jazz meditations of “Staircase” document his homesickness for Buffalo.


Though a complicated time, it was also a time of growth and self-discovery. “The thing with life lessons is you keep learning them up until you learn them. You find that there really are patterns in your life — it’s like, you haven’t learned what you’re supposed to learn yet,” he says. “I’m learning to be more clear-minded and confident in my decisions. I’ve began to let go of things — realizing that you can’t be in control of everything.” He celebrates the process on the gently stirring “Golden”: ‘Why would I'd like to stay the same any time While I would be golden?’ “This album is a physical manifestation of my personalized growth,” he affirms.


It’s also a brilliant summer album, from the exuberant opener “Smile” to the mellow, breezy closer “Sunrise.” There really are soulful ballads (“Beachlove,” “Forever”), and hard-hitting rock songs (“Wait,” “Beg”) while doing so, nevertheless its vibes are cautiously crafted at every point. “I remember a time whenever making an album was more of an art form. You put a lot more thought into the way that the flow of the songs goes and the different colors you could create,” he says. “I thought it could be cool if the full album felt like a global you can stay in. Especially ending with “Sunrise”… I can taste that song.”


It’s an album that primes M.A.G.S. For big things, suggesting he won’t habitually be the concealed gem he is now. Alongside artists like Bartees Strange and KennyHoopla, Douglas hopes he can support to kickstart a new era for Black rock music. “People wanna mention that rock music is a white genre whenever, case in point, a lot of rock music comes from Black music. Now, it’s like we’re about to have a Black rock renaissance, and I’m excited to just be a piece of the wave.” Other than that, he’s not looking also far into the future. “This is kinda what I’m doing because I have to now. My body just has to do it,” he says. “I feel blessed to be doing this, and this is what I’ve routinely wanted. [But] I like to experience life as it comes. If I think also hard about the future, I’ll generally trip.”


He continues, “It feels right to be putting this album out in my 30th year. All of the experiences and the lessons I’ve learned with my twenties, I can begin fresh with 30. I can come into my own as a person and artist, and visualize where that takes me.”


“Ultimately,” he concludes, “all I’m attempting to do is whichever I wanna do.”