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HEY MOOK CRASH INTO YOU Independent It's not often you come across Tasmanian bands. Perhaps it's the great divide of Bass Strait that proves too difficult to cross. Or perhaps most of them immediately move to the mainland, seeking their fortune and lose their apple isle status. Not so for Hey Mook, a band with a long history in the Tassie music scene. Never heard of them? That's OK, you have now. And it's just as well. This 10 track album is a surprising treat. Influenced by acts like Wilco and the Go-Betweens, Hey Mook have that beautiful, gentle alt-country sound down pat. Tracks like Charlie Rich drip with world weariness and subtle, rambling guitar riffs. Come Along Sweetness is a brilliant track that deserves some airplay, If not on JJJ, then a least with our friends on community radio. It's the kind of achingly beautiful song that would bring tears to your eyes if you were feeling down already, with a haunting vocal carried along by a nice underlying piano accompaniment. Other songs get a bit more rocking, such as San Francisco, the sort of song Sonic Youth would have written if they came from Memphis and were hanging out with Lou Reed, and the twanging John Deverish Flat Country Mountain Boy. My only complaint is that the production could have been beefed up a little. But since the album is self produced (with a minimal budget one imagines) and the songs are so strong, it's forgivable. And it still sounds better than much of the self produced local stuff that comes out around here. Apparently the gigs for this six piece are rare, but keep an eye out if you happen to be heading south. In the meantime look out for this record. It might be hard to find but it's worth it. - Craig Platt
Sourced from INPRESS ISSUE 703. |
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