Mouserocket--s/t
Empty 2004
Any time an injustice is rectified, there's reason to rejoice. Never has this been more true than it is with the release of this first "official" Mouserocket album. Now, the best and most exciting band of the last couple years stands to receive all the attention and acclaim they so richly deserve. The secret is finally out, and it's long overdue.
Mouserocket play an otherworldly sounding brand of angular indie pop, slightly akin to the Thinking Fellers Union Local 282. This music also bears a glancing resemblance to frontwoman Alicja's other band, the Lost Sounds--though where that outfit tends to operate on the side of abrasiveness, Mouserocket ultimately surrender most to dreamy melodicism. This stuff is a striking alchemy of several different styles and really only sounds like Mouserocket. You will be hard pressed to find a fresher, more exciting listen than this--ever.
Comprised of a few new tracks, as well as most of the songs included on the superb Water Recordings CDr (either reworked or, in some cases, taken from those exact same sessions), this self titled disc is a masterpiece from the songwriting perspective. Perhaps the biggest selling point of Mouserocket remains the heart stopping, angelic vox Alicja brings to the mix--her voice drives classics such as "Walking Lizard," "Song of Broken Glass," and "Missing Teeth." That said, the highlights of this disc come in the form of two new tracks fronted by Robby Grant. On "Black Helicopters," Mouserocket deliver a less dark slice of the epic romantic vastness found on the Lost Sounds' "Ocelot Rising." Still, "I'm Just Blushing" is the absolute tops--Robby's vocie coming off as an unlikely blend of Neil Young and Ace Frehley, fitting perfectly over the laid back stuttering beat of the verses, then giving way to souped up, slighly waved out choruses. There isn't a second of this album that's anything less than incredible, regardless of who is at the mic.
If you've missed out on Mouserocket up to this point, you're now out of excuses. Any album of the year debate ended the second this disc hit the shelf--here it is. Thank God this is being released on large enough of a scale that people will actually get to hear it. World domination is imminent, so you might as well hop on board now. Still without question the best thing happening in music, and now you get to know.
Score this CD directly from EMPTY
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