Customer Reviews

Loving Sounds of Static

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

these guys are continually earning positive comparisons to Postal Service, but Mobius Band definitely have more of an edge to their sound. this is the perfect balance between guitar-based rock and electronic music, with neither element outshining the other.

also, the songwriting is completely on point. the melodies will hook you in right away, but upon closer listening, you will notice the poppiness is contrasted with strong, sometimes dark lyrical content.

overall this album just sounds very honest. i don't sense any pretension or posturing that is currently plaguing the indie rock scene. i like this album because it is pushing the boundaries of what pop music can sound like, yet even my mom could enjoy it.

Mobius Band had everything going for them leading up to their debut full-length: they've already released a couple of outstanding EPs, they put on a great live act, and they've been compared to some of the most popular bands in their genre. Sad to say, they didn't live up to the hype with their first LP.

The album starts out slow. It ends slow. Where it recaptures some of what's come before is on songs like "You're Wrong", where it revisits Radiohead's "I Might Be Wrong", or on the song "I Just Turned 18", the closest they come on the album to an FM-friendly track. Songs like Philadelphia test the patience, and beg to be skipped because you know what's left to come, and it's easy to tell that you don't need to hear it.

Don't get me wrong. I really like this band. A 3 star on Amazon means that it's an OK album. And that's what it is. Ok. Bands like The Postal Service or The Broadcast are being done an injustice if you refer to them based on this album alone. I'll look forward to future releases by the Mobius Band, because I know they have more to give than this album alone.

like the other review says, loving sounds of static is a record that is both forward-thinking and mom-friendly..quite an achievement, i'd say. in dealing with growing up and breaking up, mobius band offer a much more mature take on the subject matter than most other pop songwriters, making this a very poignant debut that should have something to offer almost everyone.

musically the band strike a very interesting balance between glitchiness and live instruments (especially in the drumming) that seems like a natural step forward from bands like the postal service and interpol. i hope mobius band gets more attention, cos this album has 'sleeper hit' written all over it..

and this is by far the smartest and most cohesive record i've heard in a long time. i love the cool breeze vocals that are emotive (but not emo!) and not too hipster-detached. very excited to see them live and spread the word - so if you're reading this, do yourself a favor and buy both the EP and full album as they're honestly better than arcade fire and bloc party combined! seriously - mobius band has some lasting songs that deserve a good listen and a permanent spot in your record collection.

In four years, The Mobius Band have released four different EPs, showing a slow progression from a somewhat ramshackle indie rock electronic band with influences that ranged from kraut to ambient to an almost straightforward rock trio with small flourishes of the weird touches that initially set them apart. Fortunately, their songwriting skills have also grown as well, and their City Vs Country EP (that came out earlier this year) found the group creating some of their best and most concise tracks to date.

So, several years after their inception, the group is finally debuting their first full-length release in The Loving Sounds Of Static and the results are slightly mixed. There are still some great tracks, but there are also some ones that feel almost like filler, and given that the album runs barely over forty minutes, it makes the album sag a bit. One of said songs is the opener of "Detach," which seems to have all the components in place, but just sort of spins in place with fairly plain chord progressions and an overlong second half. Fortunately, the group kicks things up a notch musically with a more driving rhythm section and some synth-laced breakdowns that seem to pile up the momentum.

Then again, the group sorta scraps that momentum through the midsection of the album with a batch of midtempo electro-ballad tracks. "Twilight" mixes some overwrought lyrics with twinkling synth noodlings while "Taxicab" finds the group remaking one of their old tracks with a bogged-down electro lullaby feel. Even the loud ending can't salvage the track, and the mopey pace continues with "You're Wrong." Of course the group doesn't have to rock out on every track, but with the aforementioned (and a couple others sandwiched in) tracks comprising almost half the running length of the entire album, it makes for a bit of a slog.

The group picks things up from there out, and turn in some of their best tracks to date. The album-titled "The Loving Sounds Of Static" finds the group locking into the honed sound that they turned in on their City Vs Country EP and the resulting track is a breath of fresh air while "I Just Turned 18" is a bit on the silly side lyrically, but still an invigorating track that draws on past memories without coming across as cloying. The album closer of "Doo Wop" brings some ringing guitars and odd time signatures in for another solid track and a great closing to the album. Based on their past output, The Loving Sounds Of Static has about 2 EPs worth of good material and another EPs worth of tracks that just don't quite feel up to par. Given it's the true album debut from the group, I'll cut them some slack, but here's hoping they can harness the strength of their short game (to use a golf term) from here on out.

(from almost cool music reviews)

Okay, I am 44 years old and remember going to The Paradise in Boston when I was in my teens. My musical past goes way back to seeing the emergence of bands before they were popular, and I 've watched the transition go from metal to techno to really bad pop and even worse rap.

I am glad to see the return of some bands with decent sound (hallelulah!) like Mobius Band. I've been playing my old 80's music so long now, seemingly forever, waiting for this type of music to return. It has returned--digitized no less.

This CD has some really great, clean sounds, seemingly simple but actually pretty intricate (without sounding cluttered) when you listen to them. And the lyrics have meaning--joy oh joy.

Hoping for more from these guys.

A rock band? Why not? Thus the Mobius Band and their debut THE LOVING SOUNDS OF STATIC mix indie rock with some electronic elements -- and the results come out pretty good. While not as impressive as M83, the Mobius Band make a strong case for themselves. They certainly hew more towards the rock side of things, but there's a bit of New Order that peeks in on "Radio Coup." "Twilight" starts off bucolic and goes emo by the time the vocals come in. The layering in "Close the Door" makes you almost forget about the drum machine in the background. Some of the album, alas, doesn't distinguish itself either as indie rock or electronica, but that can't be said for "I Just Turned 18," a coming-of-age track that rings true. "Philadelphia," similarly works an multiple levels. A promising debut from a label that knows no boundaries.