I’ve been into Mojave 3 (the more laidback successor to shoegazer trail-blazers Slowdive) for a number of years, so I’m very excited that they have a new album coming out soon. Puzzles Like You is due to be released on June 19, according to their official site. The reports suggest that it will continue on the path away from the contemplative, slow, beautiful but occasionally dreary sound of their early work. They’ve got a couple demos floating around which seem to confirm this.
This song, the first single, is scheduled for release on May 29. It’s got a quick tempo, and a slightly more jangly sound than some of their earlier work, though it still resides firmly in the gentle, but insistent, folk-country genre. It’s one of those songs where a minute in you realize your foot is tapping uncontrollably, and by the end of it your whole body is moving with the beat. I already love the song from the demo, and can only hope that the final version will make it even better.
Once again, this is much more of a pop song than older Mojave 3 work. If that disappoints you, this one probably won’t be your cup of tea, but I think it’s got a very nice sound. It’s quick (just over 2 minutes), with a pleasant (but not overwhelming) guitar riff, and some nice harmonies. One thing I notice here is that the drums play a much more important role than on past albums. Not that there are drum solos or even anything particularly complicated, but they is the driving force for the song, not just a means of holding the beat but an instrument in their own right.
This one is slightly less rollicking, but smooth and beautiful. It drives home how nice Neil Halstead’s voice really is. I will admit the song drags on a little bit in the second half, though I hope that it’s just a function of it being a demo, and the instrumentation in that section will flesh it out a bit when the final version is released.
In other news: new Sufjan! Check out Stereogum for “The Henney Buggy Band,” a just-released track from The Avalanche: Outtakes And Extras From The Illinois Album. So far, the stuff I’ve heard from Avalanche is not quite as good as Illinois, part 1–you can understand why it got cut in favor of the other songs–but even A-minus work from Sufjan is still pretty darn good.
And, I Guess I’m Floating has some songs by Chebeague, who I had never heard of, but have been enjoying today. They’ve even got a little bit of the Mojave 3 feel, to tie it back in a little.