In my infinite good luck, I got the chance to listen to Tonks and the Aurors‘ latest installment, We Are Magic, a few days ahead of the official release.

And I’ve been totally blown away.

The album concept is Tonks’ journey through Deathly Hallows. The first track, ‘So It Begins’, sets the mood as a general song about the state of things in the wizarding world. Aside from being an instant, rocking crowd-pleaser, there are some pretty insightful lyrics that go above just wizard rock – something we can all relate to. The first part of the chorus says, “we must fight with the love that we’ve got/for the future we’re about to start”. Now, I may be a bit overly sappy, but I blinked back some tears the first time I heard that.

The album continues with Tonks’ and Remus’ wedding, which very much sounds like any typical girl’s account of her wedding – aside from the groom being a werewolf, of course. Next up is the classic seven Potters scene, but with a more melancholy take on it than The Remus Lupins have. After all, Mad Eye was Tonks’ mentor.

‘Breaking News’ starts a slightly less happy time in Tonks’ life. We’ve got a haunting account of Tonks telling Remus that she’s going to have a baby and him leaving. ‘Tonight, Tonight’ continues with a despondent Tonks and some really lovely backup vocals.

‘Taking You Back’ will put the smile back on your face, though. Everyone’s favorite werewolf joins Steph for some amusing banter that includes, “Remus Lupin, you’re kinda dumb sometimes/Luckily I knew that when I married you/Yes, you know I’m a Hufflepuff because I’m taking you back/But you know you’ll be paying for this for awhile”.

After hearing about Ted walking Tonks down the aisle in track 2, ‘Remember’ really tugs at the heartstrings. The song is long, clocking in at 7:07, but you still don’t want it to end. It’s followed up by another upbeat track, this one about Potterwatch, perhaps the catchiest song on the album.

I’m not sure that there is anyone who doesn’t know about Steph’s love of Bruce Springsteen, but she does throw an homage to him here to clue everyone in. It’s a touching, sincere “thank you” to her favorite musician.

The closing tracks go back to being upbeat, and although ‘Streets of Hogsmeade’ isn’t necessarily the cheeriest of topics, it is quite hopeful. (Unless you know what’s about to happen at the Battle of Howarts, of course.) I also dare anyone not to immediately want to learn the words to ‘We Are Magic’ to be able to sing along.

I’ve always liked Steph’s music. It’s generally catchy, canonical, and witty, but We Are Magic just takes it to a completely new level. You can hear the improvement in her voice since the last album – either these songs are just a better fit for it, or all the practicing has really paid off. In general, the songs are musically more interesting as well. It seems like more work was put into accompanying parts like harmonica and drums, which might sometimes come across as just an afterthought on some wizard rock albums. The drums here give a lot more to the album than just a beat. It’s a true part of the song.

I’m not sure that we are all magic, but Stephanie Anderson certainly is.

I know you all want to experience what I just did, so stay tuned for ordering information! We Are Magic will be released this Thursday.