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Them Moose Rush - Dancing Maze review




Bandcamp music player
Reviewer:
8.0

10 users:
6.8
Band: Them Moose Rush
Album: Dancing Maze
Release date: June 2020


01. Ray's Dancing Maze
02. Jeff's Transcending
03. Annie's Moles
04. Jerry's Bacon Flavored Vegan Potion
05. Jude's Got Another
06. Dolly's Wedding Song
07. Nigel's Food Falling
08. Sonny's Hidden Money
09. Yvonne's Getting On
10. Chris's Cake Crisis
11. Jake's Secret Algorithm

Is this what the sonic equivalent of an adrenaline rush sounds like?

The last time we left off with our Croats, I tried to clickbait some attention by pretending that Cedric Bixler-Zavala is in the band. He's not, but he is obviously a massive influence on this album, somewhere next to Mike Patton and Les Claypool. Basically Them Moose Rush continue that alternative/prog trend of sounding wacky and funky started by the likes of Mr. Bungle, The Mars Volta and Primus. Funny how if we think of alternative/prog blends lately, we're more likely to think of something more in the vein of melancholic stuff like Riverside, Katatonia and later era Porcupine Tree, meanwhile I could also name the already namedropped influences as the same blend, which should be a testament as how all encompassing both terms are.

And even if the folk element of Them Moose Rush is close to non-existent, I am only now starting to see some similarities with fellow Balkan(-ish) bands like Dubioza Kolektiv, S.A.R.S. or Zdob Si Zdub, if not completely in sound than in the jolly spirit. And about half of Them Moose Rush is just about the spirit, about how youthful, loud, whimsical and crazy they are. It's a blast to listen to. Like I said, it's the adrenaline rush, quite like the one you feel when you are with your friends and you're doing something that you know it's stupid and you shouldn't do it, but y'all do it anyway. Even if they were worse musicians, it would still be fun to listen to, the same way all those punks who can barely play two chords were fun. Thankfully, Them Moose Rush are great musicians.

Like its predecessor, Dancing Maze is funky, catchy and energetic, and it's not just due to their attitude. The rhythm section here is fantastically groovy, and a lot of the Primus influence is felt here (and also in the song titles, if "Jerry's Bacon Flavored Vegan Potion" didn't already make that obvious). The vocals are responsible for the music being so clingy to my ears, and although I still don't get as many earworms as I did with songs like "Radio Violence" or "Lethal Dose Of Pretty" from Don't Pick Your Noise, to Dancing Maze's defense, I listened to Don't Pick Your Noise like crazy. And it is the vocals mostly that warranted me comparing him to Cedric Bixler-Zavala. The album's narrative also follows a band through a maze, where obviously hilarity ensues.

So it all falls into place: great performances, whimsical humor, loud-quiet dynamics, great energy and a sound we don't really get enough of anymore. Even though it's hard to write about their music without namedropping their obvious influences, they do that sound so well that I really don't mind.






Written on 03.07.2020 by Doesn't matter that much to me if you agree with me, as long as you checked the album out.


Comments

Comments: 6   Visited by: 56 users
03.07.2020 - 15:54
Lanthros

Mike* Patton.
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03.07.2020 - 15:55
Rating: 8
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by Lanthros on 03.07.2020 at 15:54

Mike* Patton.

I will never forgive myself.
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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03.07.2020 - 16:37
Bad English
Tage Westerlund
What an irony, i did whit Yvonne days ago. Never Mind, but those song tittles, needs abit explanatuon

Radu i hope you will review Balkan turbo folk band for your non metal articles. My name is mud
----
Life is to short for LOVE, there is many great things to do online !!!

Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''
apos;'
[image]
I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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04.07.2020 - 20:35
Lanthros

Written by RaduP on 03.07.2020 at 15:55

Written by Lanthros on 03.07.2020 at 15:54

Mike* Patton.

I will never forgive myself.

Lmao
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08.07.2020 - 04:22
Netzach
Planewalker
This is some great, jolly prog-pop. The music video about the Russian mob chasing a hair-growth serum certainly does not make the music any less appealing!
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08.07.2020 - 07:03
Rating: 8
RaduP
CertifiedHipster
Written by Netzach on 08.07.2020 at 04:22

This is some great, jolly prog-pop. The music video about the Russian mob chasing a hair-growth serum certainly does not make the music any less appealing!

You do have a point
----
Do you think if the heart keeps on shrinking
One day there will be no heart at all?
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