From Melody Maker, March 9, 1991
Not since The Jesus and Mary Chain has there been a debut of such glowing, commanding beauty. It's so assured it really doesn't sound like a debut at all. Moose have a fierceness and urgency that belies their loveliness. Trust me, they're a band you could learn to love a lot.
The kick-off, "Jack", is a glorious racket that intermittently explodes into sheer noise without ever losing its balance, lifting off in the end with an intensity that's almost angelic.
The acrid, gorgeous "Ballad of Adam and Eve" is a foray into darker feelings about love and all the wasted emotions that come too, every bitter throwaway line ("It's been so long since I washed my face") perfectly evocative.
Russell's singing provides a slightly uncomfortable counterpoint. He remains poised between sullenness and candor, mumbling quietly as the rest of Moose crashes about him. "Boy" is Moose at their most unbridled, their most shake-it-up and knock-it-down, stampeding ahead as Russell wonders why he feels so small. And after mayhem, stillness. The gentle "I'll Take Tomorrow" reaches a state of grace that you'd expect more on a Nick Drake record, floating up through regret and a drizzling sound like rain falling on a tin roof.
Moose. The calm in the eye of the storm and the storm too. Magic.
REVIEWS-Sonny & Sam ...
From CMJ While Moose does hail
from England, their debut 7-song American release is decidedly "un,"
as in disarmingly unfashionable, unglamorous, unpretentious, undanceable,
understated, unassuming and quite unBritish. Yes, they do share some
similarities to UK guitar antiheroes such as Ride or Slowdive, but Moose's
guitar haze isn't as planned or premeditated, a much more natural demonstration
of rock ebb and flow, somewhere betwixt and between Galaxie 500 and
Yo La Tengo. Sonny & Sam compiles the band's 3 UK EPs (on Hut Records),
and while there's not a slack cut found here, there's also been some
sure forward motion - the three newest tracks, "Last Night I Fell Again"
and "This River Will Never Run Dry," both featuring new addition Lincoln
Fong (ex Cocteau Twins' soundman) on bass, and "Do You Remember?" breathe
especially rarified air. "Last Night..." glides by on a jaunty melody
and swooping guitars, while "This River" is a stunning rewrite of "I
Shall Be Released," all cowboy/loner pathos, stark musical backdrop
and heart-on-a-sleeve desire; and "Do You Remember?"'s laconic, feedback-laced
lope sunggles up nicely to the VU's fabulous "(It's Alright) The Way
That You Live." If three EPs are any indication, and Moose can continue
to avoid unseemly commercial pressures, they just could turn out to
be one of the UK's preeminent bands for some time to come. -CMJ New Music Report Issue: 262 - Nov 29, 1991
From Melody Maker, March 9, 1991
While Moose does hail
from England, their debut 7-song American release is decidedly "un,"
as in disarmingly unfashionable, unglamorous, unpretentious, undanceable,
understated, unassuming and quite unBritish. Yes, they do share some
similarities to UK guitar antiheroes such as Ride or Slowdive, but Moose's
guitar haze isn't as planned or premeditated, a much more natural demonstration
of rock ebb and flow, somewhere betwixt and between Galaxie 500 and
Yo La Tengo. Sonny & Sam compiles the band's 3 UK EPs (on Hut Records),
and while there's not a slack cut found here, there's also been some
sure forward motion - the three newest tracks, "Last Night I Fell Again"
and "This River Will Never Run Dry," both featuring new addition Lincoln
Fong (ex Cocteau Twins' soundman) on bass, and "Do You Remember?" breathe
especially rarified air. "Last Night..." glides by on a jaunty melody
and swooping guitars, while "This River" is a stunning rewrite of "I
Shall Be Released," all cowboy/loner pathos, stark musical backdrop
and heart-on-a-sleeve desire; and "Do You Remember?"'s laconic, feedback-laced
lope sunggles up nicely to the VU's fabulous "(It's Alright) The Way
That You Live." If three EPs are any indication, and Moose can continue
to avoid unseemly commercial pressures, they just could turn out to
be one of the UK's preeminent bands for some time to come.