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GET AWAY
by Moossa
(
www.moossa.com)
Review by Mark Campos
Comes now a four-piece led by and named after singer John Moosa, hailing from Richmond, Virginia, and promising "Original roots rock with a reggae feel." Their cover letter describes their sound as "a cross between Bob Dylan and Bob Marley".
I had such hopes. I imagined wild Virginia-grown Rastas jamming out a heavy riddim in the midst of bizarre echo tricks and chanting cryptic, neo-Biblical exhortations. But I didn't hear much of either Bob on this album – the only song even approximating reggae, "Dragon's Den", was a near cousin to "Watching The Detectives". As for "roots rock", the ancestors of Moosa's sound are closer to Dave Matthews than Robert Johnson.
The playing is adequate, but if you listen too close you'll hear it go awry once in a while. Where there should be a brilliant guitar solo to close "Night Rider", for example, Jim Fabricatori vamps the same twelve bars over and over, no progression or transplendence. And there's a snarky tone in John Moosa's voice that makes him sound arch and insincere, a fatal flaw when trying to put across lyrics like "Flicker drops of candle wax / Melted thoughts all relax".
Yes, and the songs are the usual preoccupations with road trips, girls the fellows know, and the Way Things Are Today. Check this profundity from John's "New War": "Jealousy, hatred, these wars between races / Unfortunate aspects of man ... kind." (Long pause at ellipse.) Sadly, "I Can Hear You Coming" is one of the political songs, not one of the girl ones.
Bassist Ryan Davis kicks in four songs (two road, two girl) full of snarled imagery. How can anybody write a song called "Reno" and not mention the glories of the buffet at the Cal-Neva? Instead, we get "Quiet seventeen ways the only conversation / exchanged in the understanding look of an eye", which is like something off a Yes album. (Moosa's voice works well for this snide song, by the way.) And God strike me, I can't listen to "Althea" past the line
"Armageddon is coming soon."
"Get Away" isn't really bad. You could learn to love it after a few plays, once the rough edges burnish off, but I'm afraid it isn't surprising or unique enough to play through twice.
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