(550 Music / Sony)
Grateful Dead fans listen up, another wannabe band is on the scene. Good thing or bad? Well, if the success of Spin Doctors, Blues Traveler, and Phish are any indication, go ahead and rejoice. Moe. takes their lead and manages to be entirely derivative, but very enjoyable.
As evidence, read the "subtle" Dead clues in their bio. For instance, did you know that Moe. has been "touring endlessly to spread their funky gospel" and that No Doy "is an atypically resonant set" from a band with "a wildly improvisational live show." OK, so every Deadhead I know said the same thing about the Dead shows they attended. Fortunately for Moe, they live up to their bio.
No Doy is a nearly hour-long set of 9 songs that range from meandering epic jams to more compact pop tunes. "She Sends Me" begins the album with a jangly little guitar part and such nonsense love lyrics as "She's got a butt like a pillow and she likes to wear black". Inexplicably, the album ends with the synthesized sounds of frogs cavorting in a pond. The tone of the album starts silly and remains the same throughout. It's nice to find a truly carefree album. Mirth and merriment characterize almost every song even when the themes are a bit depressing.
For a studio record, it's clear that these guys like jamming and having a good time. "32 Things" features a "dueling banjos" style jam on rhythm guitars before sliding into seventies funk. "Moth" is an Allman Brothers inspired ditty about the demise of a gypsy moth looking to escape only to be trapped by a spider. The moral? "She knows nothing at all about life / She knows everything about living."
When love goes awry in the Homeric epic "Rebubula", Moe. gleefully sings "Rip off all my limbs / Poke out both my eyes / Pull out my swollen tongue / Wear a thin disguise / And the sirens song / Sweetly sucks me down / Into the ocean blue / I'll find my way back to you." Not unlike Homer's works, "Rebubula" is a true epic of a song (11+ minutes) with jams that, despite their length, manage to keep your attention.
Producer John Porter puts the perfect twist on the album. His credits are diverse as alternative martyrs The Smiths and blues heroes Taj Mahal and Buddy Guy. No Doy is impeccably mastered. The vocals are clear and up front. The guitar is prominent, but not overpowering. And, like his work with The Smiths, the bass and drums are always allowed to fuel the groove. Moe. combines funky rhythms and jazzy interludes with an easy going, southern sound.
Moe. is clearly a band that's ready to be discovered by a nation of neo-hippies. Their light, Dead-influenced sound already has a solid audience waiting for them. Those of you who qualify, well, you know who you are.
