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Wouldn’t studio albums sound much better infused with the raw
energy a live show brings, as compared to the sometimes stale
feel from an actual studio? Well get ready you moe.rons, those
upstate New York boys are back with an interesting new
approach on their newest and fifth full length studio release,
‘Wormwood.’
Moe. drew up a new line of attack in putting together this
studio effort. Why coop yourselves up in a barn or some studio
to rehearse takes for an album, when your band is one of the
top live acts touring the country? With their 2002 Summer Tour
as their musical pond to fish from, the guys sat down and hand
selected their favorite live versions from that huge pool of
songs to be included on this release. From there, they took
those versions into the studio to shine them up, in order to
have that sparkling studio sound. The result may change the
way some bands tackle their own albums, as this experiment is
a fresh success.
Of course, this isn’t just any old band we are talking about.
Masters of their craft on the road, they are always trying to
break new ground on songs they have been playing for years,
while constantly mixing up their set lists for each show to
keep fans on their toes. Chuck Garvey and Al Schnier are the
two guitarists that really make this act stand out, as either
of them can go off anytime, bringing a unique style to their
music.
This album flows from one track into the next even though they
were originally not set in those places, and the product plays
seamlessly. Fans of this scene will notice quite a few
familiar live staples. Songs such as ‘Okayalright’, ‘Crab
Eyes’, ‘Kyle’s Song’, and ‘Kids’ have been kicking it on the
block for a time now. All are dynamically rocking takes here,
albeit shorter in jammed out length than the expected norm.
From the other four newer tunes, only ‘Bullet’ really stands
out as something to look forward to hearing live with its
exploratory ways and different type of cool sound. I can
really see ‘Bullet’ going some places in the future. ‘Shoot
First’ and ‘Not Coming Down’ are both decent tracks while
‘Gone’ kind of misses for me. The other six tracks are
basically instrumentals to link one song to the next. Most
notable from these is ‘Wormwood’ which has a Floydish,
tripped-out, space feel to it and can actually stand on its
own. The rest are really no big deal, but they do perform
their duty of bridging those gaps and keeping the album
streaming along as one cohesive unit.
If you like the Rock and you like the Jamming, check out moe.
for sure. And although I would still direct new fans towards
the last moe. album ‘Dither’ to get their first introduction
to this band, ‘Wormwood’ should also impress new listeners as
the music is pretty accessible to anyone. Better yet, I will
go a step further and recommend their ‘L’ Double live release
along with their ‘Warts and All’ Volumes 1 & 2 for the true
fans of real meat and potatoes listening. Great stuff indeed.
‘Wormwood’ does manage to succeed at being something
distinctive and shows how ambitious this band can be, when
they want to. 4 moe.ronic planets.
Track Listing:
01. Not Coming Down
02. Wormwood
03. Okayalright
04. Rumble Strip
05. Gone
06. Organs
07. Crab Eyes
08. Bullet
09. Kyle's Song
10. Bend Sinister
11. Kids
12. Kidstoys
13. Shoot First
14. Edison Laugh Record
Shamples Rating:
4 out of 5 Planets
Talk about moe. - Wormwood >>
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