Search - Moles :: Instinct

It'll Blow Yr Mind!

Ernesto Yermoli | Arlington, VA USA | 09/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This short little album is one of the most astounding records of the 1990s. A kaleidoscope of awkward horns, jagged guitars, and rumbling bass, each song sounds as though it doesn't know what it's doing, yet somehow brings everything together with awe-inspiring skill. The title is appropriate: much of the music, including Richard Davies' singing, sounds as though it was instinctually performed by a band in perfect synch with itself. There's an improvisatory feel to the compositions, despite the clearly deliberate craftsmanship involved; the most apt comparisons I can think of are with Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band, Guided by Voices, and Henry Cow. (Indeed, the first song--"Minor Royal March"--might as well be a Henry Cow tribute, and the title track is a dead ringer for late-80s GBV.) For those who know Davies only from Cardinal, his baroque pop outfit w/Eric Matthews, be advised that this is a completely different bag. Instinct is also considerably weirder than the Moles' other wonderful album, Untune the Sky, which is much more immediately accessible (if still enamored of a big, unsettling noise). I encourage the avant-psych enthusiast to buy this album now. There can be no regrets.
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