Mojave 3
Ask Me Tomorrow
4AD, 1995
Arising from the ruins of UK shoegaze legends Slowdive, Mojave 3 plays music
rich with a familiar emotional fabric, yet from a more introspective and
autumnal position. Consisting of ex-Slowdive vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Neil
Halstead, vocalist/guitarist Rachel Goswell, and drummer Ian McCutcheon, the
band is completed by pianist Christopher Andrews. The group’s debut recording,
Ask Me Tomorrow, features minimalist compositions and instrumentation,
forsaking the ethereal noise of Slowdive in favor of acoustic and clean electric
guitars, sparse percussion, and gentle singing. These are plain, delicate songs
that while communicating melancholic emotions, have more in common with folk and
indie-country rock than the dreamy tones and waves of hazy distortion
characteristic of the shoegaze sound.
Mojave 3 write songs of wistful essence, bathed in a nostalgic and resigned
luminosity. These are songs of yearning, forlorn remembrance, and the aches and
joys of love. Yet it is not with an overflow of passion that these themes are
delivered, but rather a pensiveness that emphasizes the fragility of life
understood through concentrated reflection. The music drifts in beautiful
motion, often conjuring visions of early morning misty meadows, late evening
autumn skies, and vacant rooms wherein treasured yet painful memories haunt. The
sentiments are expressed in wholly genuine fashion, with a sincerity that simply
cannot be fabricated. Singers Halstead and Goswell are the voices of this truth,
communicating an emotional purity in understated yet wonderfully engaging
manner.
"wish that I could just tell you I care
I love you I need you and I’m still scared
cathy I’m cold I don’t mean to be bold
but I need you to find me again
I’m wasted I’m fried I’m a fool I’m a liar
but I need you to hold me again"
Most of the songs on Ask Me Tomorrow obey a similar mode of stylistic
design and expression, though "You’re Beautiful" forbids percussion to allow the
soft strumming of acoustic guitar and Halstead’s quiet singing to work a magical
charm, and albums closer "Mercy" features distinct dynamics, breaking in and out
of the placidity with the disc’s most rock oriented moments. The songs that
leave the most penetrating emotional impact, such as "Where Is The Love",
"Pictures", "Candle Song 3", and "Sarah", do so by speaking directly to the soul
by way of the heart in a language recognized by those sensitive to life’s
precious transience, an awareness through which we reach the highest appreciation of our own
existence.
2/17/06
Tracklisting:
1. love songs on the radio
2. sarah
3. tomorrow’s taken
4. candle song 3
5. you’re beautiful
6. where is the love
7. after all
8. pictures
9. mercy
 Mojave 3
Out Of Tune
1998, 4AD Returning from a period of
inactivity, Mojave 3 release their second full-length recording, Out Of
Tune. Welcoming in new members Simon Rowe on electric guitar and Alan
Forrester on piano, the sound of the band has developed into a more wide
open and upbeat approach. The instrumentation is a bit more active
compared to the minimalism of Ask Me Tomorrow. Pedal steele
guitars, trumpets, trombones, and even gospel singing have been
implemented into the music to flesh out the sound and bring a brighter and
more expansive feel to the songs.
The band’s country/folk
influences have taken on more of a frontal role for this album. The
inclusion of steele guitars on "Give What You Take" and "Baby’s Coming
Home" provide the music with an easy-going, lighthearted element typically
associated with true country. The brass instruments liven up the sound
considerably, particularly "Some Kinda Angel" and "This Road I’m
Travelling", creating an uplifting mood that is entirely alien to the
debut. There’s even a bit of honky-tonk piano in "Keep It All Hid" that
gives the song a sort of dusty barroom charm.
"There’s a
place I know
where you
can’t look down
Yeah...it
makes you feel alive
it makes you
feel alive" While most of this material
is of an elating nature, the album does contain a few emotionally serious
moments more familiar to the debut. Of these, "Caught Beneath Your Heel"
is perhaps the most engaging, largely due to Neil Halstead’s ability to
compose a song that utilizes a hesitancy effect in just the right moments.
The song is made even more touching by session singer Lisa Millet’s
wonderful mid-song gospel-styled vocalizations. "Yer Feet" is easily the
disc’s most downcast track, relying on hushed acoustic guitars and
Halstead’s pained singing to tell its tale of failed love.
Out Of Tune
does not feature as many sad songs as Ask Me Tomorrow, yet because
the beauty of Mojave 3's music is that they refuse to mask their emotions,
the album is an altogether enjoyable one. The band have completely shed
their sound of any remaining shoegazing carried over from their previous
band Slowdive, in favor of a more stripped down, emotionally raw, and
livelier approach. Out Of Tune is a feel-good, sunshiny, and
optimistic album, though the honesty of Mojave 3's expression keeps the
music flourishing as its creators strive for a more vibrant place within.
2/18/06
Tracklisting:
1. Who Do You Love
2. Give What You Take
3. Some Kinda Angel
4. All Your Tears
5. Yer Feet
6. Caught Beneath Your Heel
7. This Road I’m Travelling
8. Keep It All Hid
9. Baby’s Coming Home
10. To Whom Should I Write
 
Mojave 3
Excuses For Travellers
4AD, 2000 Unlike the first two Mojave
3 albums, Excuses For Travellers is not defined by a unified
character to shape its personality. Taking both the introspective
melancholy of the debut and the upbeat country/folk rock inspirations of
Out Of Tune and refining each approach in such a manner that fades
clearly defined barriers, this work is more appropriate as a cohesive and
complete portrayal of the Mojave 3 sound. It is a far more varied album,
with no specific mood defining its entirety. In this way, it is a balanced
listen that reflects the ever-changing emotional fabric that enriches each
moment of life.
" It takes a
while before you really know what’s right"
There is a noticeably more
fluid nature to these songs, a smoothness flowing through which typically
accompanies a less self-conscious disposition. It’s as if Mojave 3 have
discovered their artistic truth through internal realization, as their
music is now less restrained, and passages are allowed more room to
breathe. "In Love With A View" is simply the band’s finest song, an
exquisitely delivered account of a beautiful heartache. The frailty of
Neil Halstead’s voice, along with the excellent emotional dynamics
portrayed by the musical transitions, resonates a truth in motion through
art which speaks to an affection for the experiences that breathe life
into memories. This is the gift of Mojave 3. Their music connects with
pure and raw feelings in which even the lowest offers something to make
you feel alive. The slow, delicate sadness of "My Life In Art" finds
Mojave 3 beautifully orchestrating a touch upon the spirit that through
the song’s floating whisper glides a comforting essence of a warm,
heartfelt embrace. It is a spellbindingly wonderful song that reflects a
sadness of life, yet does not fade without a reminder that within such
sorrow pulses a light of life which we would do well not to lose sight of.
Elsewhere, "Prayer For The Paranoid" may tell a tale of hopeless
determination, but its melancholy harnesses a knowledge that defies the
surrender Halstead claims. Its poetic brilliance exemplifies an expression
beyond the given moment of which it speaks, towards the wholeness of the
journey.
"And these
clouds keep on rolling
And I, I
don’t know why
Take this
guitar out of my hands
I surrender" While not every song
reaches such fantastic or memorable levels, even the decent songs appeal
to the delights that listeners have come to expect from Mojave 3, or any
Neil Halstead-composed music. Songs like "Krazy Koz" and "Got My Sunshine"
may not radiate as deeply, yet they are far from unnecessary. Mojave 3
have made it clear that their world must not eschew the sunlight, however,
on Excuses For Travellers, they have successfully fused their
good-time feelings with an equally essential contemplative truth to
achieve a more panoptic reflection, and as a result, the band have
discovered their most complete representation.
3/6/06
Tracklisting:
1. In Love With A View
2. Trying To reach You
3. My Life In Art
4. Return To Sender
5. When You’re Drifting
6. Any Day Will Be Fine
7. She Broke You So Softly
8. Prayer For The Paranoid
(Electric Version)
9. Bringin’ Me Home
10. Got My Sunshine
11. Krazy Koz
12. Always Right
  Mojave 3
Spoon And Rafter
4AD, 2003 Slightly deviating from the
alternative country/folk approach which characterized much of the band’s
previous material, Spoon And Rafter finds Mojave 3 emphasizing
their dreamlike atmospherics within the scope of their familiar folk-rock
songs. Through subdued articulations of heartbreak and longing, the
engagement of these songs comes from the direct sincerity with which they
are delivered. Like all Mojave 3 efforts, it is the genuine nature of
reflection that ultimately personifies the experience and establishes the
presence of this music.
At its core, Spoon And
Rafter has a feeling similar to the Ask Me Tomorrow debut,
though not quite as seriously introspective as that work. The album does
not exert an immediate impact or generate an incredibly powerful presence
upon initial encounters, yet the exquisite charm of the songs works its
wonder essentially without notice. Tracks like "Bluebird Of Happiness", "Starlite
#1", and "Tinkers Blues" are great examples of Mojave 3's excellence at
composing songs that balance organic honesty in sound and an emotional
revelation. The dreamy ambience of Slowdive even creeps into some of this
material. "Hard To Miss You"and "Writing To St. Peter" recall Slowdive
numbers "Here She Comes" and "Dagger" in their delicate texture, yet
presented with a significantly lighter shade of expression. The band’s
ability to subtly shift in between upbeat tunes like "Bill Oddity" and
gentle deliverance of sadness like "She’s All Up Above" is a rarity in
this field, and something to be highly treasured in modern music.
"If I had a
line I'd be thinking of ways to get with it
But I got nothing just a moment to sing about nothing
Frozen in motion
We're frozen in motion
All dead ends and broken hearts"
Of course, the
strength of Mojave 3 is the fine songwriting and delicate voice of Neil
Halstead. His talent for singing a line with such aching purity as well as
strike a chord of such plain-stated yearning is what really brings this
music to life. When his voice is teamed with bass guitarist Rachel
Goswell’s the effects are always sensational, particularly during the hazy
beauty of "Writing To St. Peter". There is a tranquility that floats
throughout this album and remains even after it is done, and this is
specifically attributable to the endearing melodies that enrich each song.
Mojave 3 albums are not so
much about escape as they are about connecting with an inner truth of the
reality of emotion. Through this subtle method, their music works a
magical quality that takes the listener to a higher place, much like a
pleasant daydream under shade of springtime trees. There are very few
artists in current music who possess the capacity to communicate pure
human feelings as nakedly and earnestly as this. With Spoon And Rafter
Mojave 3 have come through with one of their most satisfyingly warm and
blissful albums.
3/8/06
Tracklisting:
1.
Bluebird of Happiness
2. Starlite #1
3. Bill Oddity
4. Writing to St. Peter
5.
Battle of the brokenhearts
6. Hard to miss you
7. Tinkers Blues
8. She’s all up Above
9. Too Many Mornings
10. Between the bars
Mojave 3
4AD
Mojave 3 Discography:
Ask Me Tomorrow (1995, 4AD)
Out Of Tune (1998, 4AD)
Who Do You Love EP (1998, 4AD)
Some Kinda Angel EP (1998, 4AD)
In Love With A View EP (2000, 4AD)
Any Day Will Be Fine EP (2000, 4AD)
Excuses For Travelers (2000, 4AD)
Return To Sender EP (2000, 4AD)
Spoon And Rafter (2003, 4AD)
Puzzles Like You (2006,
4AD) |
