Mojave 3 - 'Spoon & Rafter' (4AD)
3/5
By: Toby L
Pained slumberings, the only thing more beautiful than 'Spoon & Rafter' - the arch return from alt.country wiz-kids Neil Halstead and Mojave 3 - is the wonderfully etched artwork: a timeless summertime-scene as twee and gay (in the traditional sense) as they come.
And in an era where Gorky's Zygotic Mynci are king, you could imagine M3 existing as equally paramount. But seeing as we actually live in a consumerist culture that thrives on stabbings, guns and criminal-injustice in all sectors of society, then there's little chance in 'Spoon...' raising a trouser-region in many environments other than amidst record-flicking trainspotter-types in trendy, indie record-stores.
Still, there's solace to be found in the intimacy of it all; from the gospel-y thump of a staggering, gargantuan 'Bluebird of Happiness', this is hushed genius at its most quiet and sleek, Young-esque and simmering in its own sweetness. If the larger efforts don't grab you, however, then the whirling organ of 'Too Many Mornings' and its interlocking guitars and female backing-vox will mesmerise and gently swoon, whilst the ambient, strumming, Flaming Lips-like 'Starlite #1' is pure serenity in all its caged-up, unexposed and innocent grandeur.
Fear that a Brit-act may soon then stray too Yankee-noodle for its own acoustic-y good, the delightfully-titled 'Bill Oddity' reminds us that this quintet are far from copyist US-clones - Halstead's gravely, intriguing, mid-pitched vox nestling amidst a smattering of zaps and beeps and exultant six-string pickings.
Where the priority over and over is to consistently endeavour to craft 'the perfect hippie-pop song', Mojave 3 are the slurry leaders of the stoned pack. And where the challenge lays to steal your heart as the summer-days begin to dwindle, again, Mojave 3 are the unlikely, dreamy-eyed, first choice.
Artists in this article: Mojave 3
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