London’s MOSES have released their second album ‘I Still Believe! Do You?’. Making the trip back to Wolverhampton, they recorded once again with Gavin Monaghan (Shade, The Twang) at his Magic Garden Studio (except 'Caffy' and 'Pawns' by Ian Flynn).
Last time out, they served up a raw an album in every sense, emotion, power, and talent. Firecrackers like ‘Cause Got You’ and ‘River Thames’ were instant indie bangers. On ‘Joy’, ‘Waiter’, and ‘Crocodile’, they sought to try different things musically and lyrically. Brave yes, but ultimately, they were overshadowed by the aforementioned.
On ‘I Still Believe! Do You?’, they not only level up the more explorative tracks, but they also surpass their indie-punk roots at light speed. ‘Move On’, ‘Will’, and ‘Murderer’ are big departures from their roots musically. ‘Move On’ walks into Foal’s living room and says hi to ‘Spanish Sahara’ whilst offering a bolder vision for hope. ‘Will’ taps into the debuts dynamism but is far more courageous and audacious. The spoken word and intense dreampop guitars hover above the clouds until the eruption of defiance. They take ‘Hail The Thief’ to the fury of early Manic Street Preachers’ as they dig in, stand tall and attempt to change the world forever! Whereas ‘Murderer’, is laden with Johnny Cash guitars, Richey Edwards desperation, and Frank Turner’s sense of goodwill. It’s one thing to be angry and spit venomous hostility at the status quo. It is, however, a whole new ball game to do it poetically and still sound violent.
On all three tracks, frontman Victor Moses proves he is one of life’s rarest breeds. Defying the odds with rebellious integrity whilst simultaneously unifying souls with passion. He doesn’t just sing “A murderer that's what we need / To kill the hate to kill hypocrisy and greed”, he wrenches it from the gut if it’s his dying breath.
There are moments that act as a bridge between this new colossal sound and the debut. ‘That’s Who You Are’ has the cuteness of ‘Joy’ and the togetherness of ‘Basically’. However, this is the sound of a band coming to their peak of power. The twist and turns of the narrative, the Peace-esque noodling, and the stadium-sized explosion collide to spectacular effects.
On ‘The Last Kick of Melancholia’, they take their past to new creative highs what is, almost a mini rock opera. Part one pulls together the best bits of Peace, Little Comets, and Foals over the past decade. They descend into the chaos of ‘Popscene’ and the “cockney” mayhem of ‘Sunday Sunday’ before parading to the vast landscapes of The Who in the closing stages. Whereas, ‘Alone’ finds Victor in Rob Harvey mode. High pitched, enraged, and always beautifully melodic.
Most bands’ biggest asset in the build-up to the debut album is their sense of hope. It certainly was for MOSES. Ironically, on an album about hope, they leave this realm. ‘I Still Believe! Do You?’ is blessed with The Kinks’ storytelling, Blur’s chaos, Manic Street Preachers realness, and Blossoms’ pop sensibilities. One criticism could be, does it have the wayward genius of Fat White Family, probably not, but pulling from all those fields has landed MOSES with a second album of real quality.
*Image courtesy of Rocklands Artbeat