Where's Moo: press

For a band that hasn’t had a truly hit album in more than 10 years, it never ceases to amaze me just how influential R.E.M. really is and continues to be. Oh sure, I know that hit albums are not necessarily a barometer of an artists’ worth or influence (hell, two of the worst selling bands of all-time, the Velvet Underground and Big Star, are also among the most influential of all-time), but somehow I got the impression that R.E.M. is no longer respected by young musicians and is dismissed as ‘old farts’. And yet, evidence appears all time that this is not the case and Los Angeles band Where’s Moo are the latest example with their debut album Dear Friend Dopamine.

Now, when bands emulate the Georgia Boys the period of choice tends to be the 1985-88 span that encompasses the albums Fables of the Reconstruction, Lifes Rich Pageant, Document, and Green, not coincidentally their most ‘rock’ oriented (with the exception of 1994’s glam-centric Monster) records, the type of which people who like U2 and Nirvana can appreciate. And Where’s Moo certainly doesn’t deviate from that program, in fact the band proudly proclaim in their bio that they sound like “R.E.M. and the Pixies having sex in a space ship while crashing into the sun” (I wonder what Michael Stipe and Frank Black would make of that image?). Now, every press cutting I’ve read about these guys mentions the R.E.M./Pixies similarities, so one would have to think that it’s true, right? Sure, I’ve already said R.E.M. figures significantly in the band’s sound--the rhythmic acoustic guitar strumming and distorted arpeggios favored by Peter Buck, the Stipe-like cadences in the lead vocals of Michael Magnum, of which “The Adventures” ,“Keep On Biting”, “Once I Can Fly” and “Tell Me” are good examples, the melodic bass style of Mike Mills best heard on “People Mover”--but the Pixies half comes in mostly via the male/female vocal interplay between Magnum and Jocelyn Horvath (reminiscent of Black and Kim Deal) and the Joey Santiago-like guitar solos. And I’m not saying all this as a knock against Where’s Moo; they may wear their influences on their sleeve, but they sure do more with them than many bands I’ve heard lately. Not only that, there’s a slight Prog rock influence around the edges if one listens closely--I hear it in “Her Aquarium” especially--that is intriguing and gives the music added oomph.

As a 15 year (yeah, I got into them late; so what, so did a lot of people) R.E.M. fan, I can be extremely skeptical about bands who try to emulate them. Where’s Moo did indeed raise my red flag once I discovered their dirty little (not-so) secret, but I soon realized that this band rules their influences rather than the other way round. Like Idlewild--a British band who also tred similar R.E.M. turf--Where’s Moo take the ball, run with it, and kick it all over the damn place. Dear Friend Dopamine is no mere collection of Xerox rock and roll, but the birth of something exciting and new.

"Dear Friend Dopamine"
(Orange Hand Records 2007)

With a number of early and mid ‘90s bands reforming to record albums or hitting the road one more time, it seems completely appropriate that Where’s Moo pay tribute, even if it is unintentional, to those old favorites. Nada Surf, Teenage Fanclub, Sebadoh and others come to mind while listening to Where’s Moo’s “Dear Friend Dopamine” as quirky tracks rail recklessly while still keeping a pop appeal. Add to that smooth vocal harmonies and Where’s Moo make “Dopamine” a sweet treat.

Sounds Like: Edgy indie rock with a nod to the ‘90s

Key Tracks: “The Adventurers”

B+
buy it!

{Noize-y Joys}
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“...Sometimes, all it takes is following one’s nose, or similarly pointed apparatus. A pretty guitarist named Jocelyn Horvath, who I met at a Courtney Love show, impressed the name Where’s Moo on me, taking the time to collect my e-mail address so that, every time her band did a gig, I’d get a reminder. Eventually, circs aligned and I knew the happiness of auditing this bratty quartet at full force one night at King King. Winsome, they ain’t. Moo’s Slow Politics EP pegs the group as pissed practitioners of the Cranberries/R.E.M. school of earworm pop, but it doesn’t do justice to the band’s breakneck heedlessness live nor sufficiently contain the flapping emo dervish that is frontman Michael Mangum. This outfit went after every song with the energetic focus of a lunatic circus strongman smashing baby ducks with a sledgehammer. It was messy, thrilling, inappropriate, disproportionate, and so Hollywood gothic I wanted to go find Baby Jane Hudson’s star outside and kiss it tenderly.”

WHERE’S MOO - SLOW POLITICS
Nuovo e.p. per questa band proveniente da Burbank, California.
Con l’ avvento di myspace nell’ etere, ormai basta girare un po’, gurdare chi sono gli amici di chi, dare una ascoltata ai pezzi messi in streaming ed ognuno può farsi un’ idea globale su quello che più o meno sta succedendo nel mondo “underground” mondiale.
Ammetto che spesso cerco di scovare nuove realtà in tal modo ma spesso trovo cloni di cloni ( tipo gente che copia spudoratamente chennesò, diciamo gli Interpol che a loro volta, per quanto bravi,,vabbè, ci siamo capiti).
Il gruppo in questione invece lo avevo ascoltato su www.myspace.com/wheresmoo prima di ricevere il cd, e devo dire che già allora mi avevano impressionato.
I brani sono davvero ben assortiti, spaziano nei meandri dell’ indie di casa più tradizionale, ricordando un po’ i primi R.E.M. ed un po’ i Pixies, con voce maschile oscura dedita ad alcune elevazioni tonali tipiche della new wave britannica ( Michael Mangum, voce e chitarra) che viene rischiarata da quella femminile ( Jocelyn Horvath, principalmente chitarra e appunto voce ), calda e dolce.
I pezzi hanno anche il merito di essere non stereotipati e non dettati da standard compositivi di stile, che spesso porta i dischi ad essere piatti.
I Where’ s Moo hanno un suono preciso ed intrigante, che pero’ non ha mai il dominio sulla creatività dei componenti del gruppo. Attualmente senza label, produttori e discografici fatevi sotto!! www.wheresmoo.com

English Version:

New e.p. for this band coming from Burbank, California.
With the success of myspace on the net, all you have to do is look around a bit, see who's friends with who, check out peices on sites in streaming audio and everyone can get a global idea of pretty much what's going on in the world of underground.
I admit that often I do this to try and dig up new additions only to find clones of clones (like people that absurdly copy, i don't know, lets say Interpol that in there time, as good as they were...well you know what i mean).
On the other hand, i listened to the the group in question on www.myspace.com/wheresmoo before getting their cd, and i have to say that at that point they had already impressed me.
The tracks are really very well assorted, they range from meanderings of the indies of more traditional house, reminding me a little of R.E.M. at the beginning or a little bit of the Pixies, with a dark male voice that gives in to a variety of tone elevations typical of british new wave (Michael Mangum, voice and guitar) that is lightened by the female voice (Jocelyn Horvath, mainly guitar and said voice), warm and sweet.
The peices also earn the right to not be stereotyped and dictated by standard compositions of style, that often make records flat, boring.
The Where s Moo have an intriguing and precise sound; however it never dominates over the creativity of the components of the group. Currently without label, producers and record companies get ready to fight!!
www.wheresmoo.com

“With their members transcending America and their sound transcending the last 20 years of American freaked out ambient indie, California based Where’s Moo are an intriguing prospect. From the outset you can hear the obvious influences of REM, and in the darker places The Pixies. The highlights on this seven song strong extended player are the driving, power packed opener ‘Electric Organizer’, the menacing razor-edged nod to proto-grunge ‘Can’t Live With Buttons’ and the melancholy closer ‘Alien People’ with its jarringly operatic feel. . .”

Sir Millard Mulch of Ink19.com
“...the music from this CD has become trapped in my head. I hear it when I ride the train; when I’m shopping for groceries, when I pay my taxes...I go to sleep hearing it, and when I wake up it’s still playing where it left off. I don’t even need to play the CD anymore - it’s embedded in my brain. . .there are bits and pieces of all sorts of things in this band’s sound: R.E.M., Pixies, PJ Harvey, Cranberries, Radiohead...subtle and clever musical moments on this CD...it just shows that the established music scene needs to be altered...Three cheers for Where’s Moo.”

The Players: Michael Mangum, lead vocals, acoustic guitar; Jocelyn Horvath, vocals, guitar; Aram Giragos, vocals, bass; Matt Soule, drums.

Material: Michael Mangum’s vocal style is reminiscent of early R.E.M., but Where’s Moo ratchet up the rock quotient to Pixie-like levels, and Horvath’s backup vocals and guitar fuzz bring a Sonic Youth quality to the songs. Where’s Moo is an outstanding representation of the group’s influences, and offer something new to the mix as well.

Musicianship: Horvath is so good that she plays with seemingly little effort. Sublime, but uniquely urban, guitar sounds pore out of her instrument, as much as Mangum’s vocals leap from his throat. Giragos is completely immersed in the music, as is the robust Soule, who drums with supreme confidence. Mangum plays his guitar with a purpose. The band is tight and have magnetic chemistry.

Performance: Where’s Moo pumped the Silver Lake lounge with a large dose of the subversive energy that makes the band’s college-radio genre relevant. Mangum wore yellow tinted glasses for the first few songs in a nod to Michael Stipe and Bono. The music grabbed the attention of the crowd, which mostly stood while they moved their bodies slightly to the music, listened intently to the songwriting, and appreciated the fretwork of Horvath as well as the energy and style of Giragos.

Summary: Earnest and dedicated, Where’s Moo is passionate about the frenetically melodious art-rock that it graciously distributes to fans. However, as well as Mangum plays the frontman role, his deference to the band is what makes Where’s Moo a special act to experience live.


Photo by: Forrest Reda
Where's Moo: Frenetically melodious art-rock with passion.

“...As the crowd weighed in at it’s heaviest, local freak-popsters Where’s Moo attacked the stage with a punk-approved verve... Bassist Aram Giragos and drummer Soule join Horvath in creating a tight and none-too-tidy assault of college-flavored pop-rock that borders on the edge of artiness. But it’s frontman Michael Mangum who arrests the eyes as he spins, twirls, leaps, falls, emotes, flails...”-Bing Futch reviewing a live show for Ink19