It’s ironic that Jersey‘s Moog don’t have a single keyboard or synth in their sound. Instead, they’re a trio who play a ska-punk friendly music that references bands like an old-skool Uncle Brian. There’s no brass, but there are plenty of upstroke guitar riffs to form a ska sound. Indeed, the first song (the CD and bio I received didn’t have song names on it) is actually pretty good, with a solid structure and a solid chorus, although the vocals are a little rough. The band claim to have played with the likes of Farse, Phinius Gage and The Fight at various London venues, and on the basis of this first song it’s not too hard to see why.
But things take a turn for the worse on the remaining two songs. While the drumming is a saving grace, the second song just smacks of any local band treading the stereotypical ska wares, while the third and final effort again lacks the sparkle of the first song, although the drumming, especially in the outro, is really, really special. With a bit more spit and polish, and a bit of work on the vocals, Moog could certainly go on to bigger and better things.
www.moogmania.com
Paul