I liked Solfege Radio, a tween band struggling outta New Jersey from a coupla years ago, fine but Helen and Mary liked them more, wrote about them, and got to know drummer Donny Saraceno. Saraceno just concluded his the Moms tour diary for rock nyc recently, and now its our turn.
I've been listening to the Moms debut EP with mixed emotions. It splits through the middle, two cracker songs that should end up on anybody's Alt List of the year, a pretty good third, and an honorable whatever. When the songs work it is because of an indelible melody fitted to a forward momentum. "Train Station" is a huge track for me, with guitarist Joey Nestor's double track vocal like a siren warning out of the blue rushing through the drunken trip of a song. The drumming and bass axis is like the train in question: a little unsettled but it gets there in the end, and the entire track is is trashed and trashing with a sterling guitar solo round the midway point.
The band seem to think "Bedtime" is as good, and they are nearly right. The air of professionalism doesn't kill the energy, but the subject matter is a drag and the story line depressing -the video is filled with suicide attempts, but it is well executed and the playing is tighter than on "Train Station". "Viva" is the same only not as strong and "Arrest Me" is the Moms expanding their horizons, and while it starts with Donny's best drumming on the album and the guitar is almost jazzy, it is slower and a downer. I think placement is a problem. If the had released a 5 song EP and put it third, it would have made a smart breather, but is that how they wanna end the EP?
The Moms are young, but they are sharp, already straining to move away from a punky three chord hear seekers. Even at their most straight ahead, they can't help messing with the form.
I can't wait to see them live.
Grade: B+