Customer Reviews

Provisions Fiction & Gear

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm really bad at writing music reviews...so I'll just defer to what the others say. Definitely one of the best albums I've ever purchased. Really original and almost completely perfect (Song #4 is terrible).

When I heard "I See Sound," I immediately categorized them with Sum41 and Blink182. Yet later, I came to notice that its music was better than punk. It was organized, instead of something like a trial jam session where anything goes. You could tell it was practiced with precision and not just a general understanding of how the song should sound. They are professional and mature rockers, at least musically. Yet, I believe they deserved four stars because I couldn't stand tracks eight to eleven on the CD ...I listen to the beginning half and that is well enough worth my money.

Good ol' rock music has been seriously lacking from the lineups of major labels. This release from Moth, a band that honed their sound by playing in the amazingly underrated Cincinnati music scene is one giant step in the right direction.

While it's easy to pick out specific influences of the band,(Weezer and The Pixies jump out)the band manages to mix and disguise the sounds of those that came before them into a mix that is incredibly infectious and sounds surprisingly fresh in the sea of god-awful-drek that is force fed to us by major labels.

It's a great album from a great band, and I hope they are very successful in future efforts. Fans of The Pixies, Weezer, and Idlewild will be thrilled with this release.

Well I think it's safe to say nothing can top that brilliant title, and I'm no poetic expert when it comes to critiquing music, but simply put this is one of those CDs that I'm proud to have shelled out some cash for. See I'm one of those crazy people who stills pays for their music, and it's always nice to be able to say, "Hey, this album was worth every penny." (Even easier to say since I got it on sale...)But it in any case, it's an incredibly fun and interesting listen. Moth effectively uses different styles and sounds while keeping the common thread of well-produced songs and rock-infested beats. The previous comment about it being a "complete" album is something that registered with me, because I completely agree and also because it's a pretty rare find these days. It's one of those CDs that you aren't even tempted to skip through to find the "hits", because it's consistently great. I really appreciate a band who can switch up it's sound from track to track, and still sound passionate and credible. For some reason Beck comes to mind, but with less abstract flair and a more predominant rock feel to it. If you're somebody who likes an adventurous ride through constantly changing scenery as opposed to a straight, flat, stretch of desert with the occasional oasis, pick this album up and do it soon.

Though this quartet calls New York home, Moth, on Provisions, Fiction and Gear, could easily have come from the Alternative Pacific Northwest. Vocalist Brad Stenz is a ringer for Modest Mouse's Isaac Brock, and Moth's music is like bite-sized nuggets of MM's sprawling tales of alienation. They've got hooks to burn, and burn they do on most of these 12 cuts. They keep the tempos moving, and overlay a few tracks with glossy new wave touches (the vocal on "Lovers Quarrel" is a histrionic homage to the New Romantics). They're shooting for the alt-mainstream, but are eccentric enough to miss by a few yards. In the end, their quirkiness saves them from being just another young band with catchy tunes.

Moth have been making music on their own terms for ten years. It shows on their major label debut, Provisions, Fiction and Gear. It is a slice of geek pop, punk rock, with metal on top.
One would expect a punk pop album. The album features the precise, angular Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle) on drums and Tim Stanton (The Replacements) on bass. It features crisp, golden production by Sean Beaven and is wonderfully mixed by Rich Costey. All the pieces are in place.
But, suprise surprise, Moth are anything but a pop punk outfit. Once "Burning Down My Sanity" begins, the band trips to gloriously original heights: The trip punk of "Last Night's Dream", the loud soft dynamics of the gorgeous and epic "Lover's Quarral" (in which vocalist and guitarist Brad Stenz delivers some of the best Buckley -esque vocals since the big man himself), the metallic snarl of "Cocaine Star", and the acoustic only "Not Really".
Through it all, Moth keep their hooks subtle but powerful,their lyrics dynamic ("I raise a toast to the one who gets the most" (Lover's Quarrel) "I'm tired of being sick and I'm sick of being tired (I See Sound)" and allow their imagination to craft one of the more daring major label releases of recent memory. Even with it's unusually dark decent in the album's latter half, Moth manage to shine and jump ahead of the pack. The class of 2002 has its new underdog.

It took awhile for this CD to reach me, but when it did, it hit hard. I enjoyed the power and energy of their single "I See Sound," as well as several other tracks in the front half of the album, but something was missing. It wasn't until I heard "Leftovers" that I was sold on these guys. The song pulls out of the high-energy and hard-hitting drum beats for a moment to give you a breather, and the effect is a centering of the album. "Leftovers" is a great song in its own right, but it also marks a maturity of the band and a growth that we as listeners get to experience on this very album. The music is very honest and the lyrics are doubly so. All this adds up to a great album.

I borrowed this CD from my brother a few years back. I liked the music so much i decided to keep it and i played it out. I just got this new one today and couldn't wait to play it. The hooks and somewhat bizarre lyrics are enticing. It's a great album all around, definitely alternative rock. Im not to keen on their newest album but Provisions, Fiction and Gear is too good to pass up. If you like Weezer or The Cars, you'll like MOTH.

First of all, after reading the reviews, it amazes how many people don't check up on a band before posting. These guys are not studio-bred rock nor do they (or have they ever) called New York home. Moth was born and bred in Cincinnati and its amazing underground original music scene. I have gone to plenty of their shows and they are nothing short of amazing. In fact I much prefer them live to there studio recordings. This band formed over a decade ago, has gone through many changes, Brad Stenz is the only original member left. While I absolutely love Provisions, I don't think this is their best work, obvious influence from a major record label is showing through. Check out their self released album "Drop Deaf" and if you are ever in the Cincinnati area GO TO A SHOW! They have also traveled around the country and abroad many a times, so check out your local scene. Go to [...] for more info on this awesome band!

Moth sucked me in with the strength of its single "I See Sound" (and it probably sucked in a lot of Pixies fans along with me). Unlike a lot of one-hit-wonders, Moth has more licks up its sleeve. This album is easy to listen to, easy to drive to, easy to sing along to. Perhaps too easy. Part of the fun of a band like the Pixies was how inaccessible the songs were at first -- great pop songs hidden in screeches, overmodulated guitars, and cheap analog recordings. But Moth ends up too slick, like a scruffy leather-wearing guy all cleaned up to bring home to Mom. As catchy as these songs are, they're almost a guilty pleasure, because they seem destined for heavy rotation and an "American Pie III" soundtrack. Another reviewer summed it up best -- someone throw some dirt on these guys.

If you're wondering whether to buy this, hold off for six months. I have a feeling by then, MTV2 and radio might have shoved Moth down our collective throats.