Customer Reviews

Perhapst

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With the release of this solo album you can now add former Dharma Bum and current Decemberist John Moen to the list of singing drummers, somewhere between Tommy Lee and Country Dick Montana. Moen actually plays just about everything here, supplemented by a few instrumental contributions by Eric Lovre (Dharma Bums) and Stephen Malkmus (Pavement, Jicks). Moen sings in a high sing-song croon that sounds at turns like David Gilmour, Speedy Keene or more a languid version of Ray Davies. His music mixes the hooks of bubblegum and glitter-rock with the vibes of Meddle-era Pink Floyd (ala "San Tropez"), 70s UK acts like Marmalade, Stealers Wheel and Badfinger, and modern revivalists like the Pooh Sticks and Teenage Fanclub. The productions are very tight, as one would expect from a one-man overdubbing band with a drummer at its core. The basic guitar-bass-and-drums are augmented by touches of space-rock, grunge, country, keyboards, autoharp, harmonica and backing vocals. Moen's lyrics are often difficult to discern from his stylized vocals, and the passages that come through are generally inscrutable. Much like listening to REM, you'll find yourself compelled to sing along, happily making up mondegreens and frequently having no idea what they mean. The background "na na na's" speak for themselves, of course. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]

This is such a fantastic album! I can't believe it hasn't been hyped more, advertised more. I learned of John Moen's work here through Pitchfork. Of course, I knew John as the drummer for the Decemberists, as well as his work with Elliott Smith and Steven Malkmus. But I was really blown away by this wonderfully poppy, creative, entertaining, interesting piece of art. I can only hope that those familiar with John's pedigree will pass along any and all information about this album. If you love artist-driven indie music in any way, check this out. This album has so many wonderful facets, such a creative approach, so many different sounds, I do believe you'll be glad you picked it up. Go to.