The Moving Units - s/t EP
(Three One G)
The Moving Units' self titled 12" is the band's debut release. And at a time when Brooklyn's post-punk scene is enjoying a lot of attention, this record doesn't exactly sound unique. Two parts The Strokes, one part Gang of Four, and (on one song) a pinch of Blur (!) combine to make what could serve as the perfect overview of what people mean when they say a band has that "New York garage band" sound. Strange then that the music takes the listener (or "critic" in my case) past all of that and offers a handful of perfectly fun and raucous dance rock. And in any case, it makes it easier for me to be lazy and draw obvious comparisons.
The big one that will probably be most associated with The Moving Units is their uncanny similarity to The Strokes at times. That can be largely pinpointed to the vocals. At times the singer sounds identical to Julian Casablancas of The Strokes. The chorus of the opening song, "Between Us & Them," could easily be a long lost Strokes song (vocals and music). But it's usually not that simple. Musically, the rhythm is far too integral for a comparison to The Strokes to quite do the job. Which is where the Gang of Four come in. Their disco-punk swagger perfectly fits the role of The Moving Units' rhythm section. And lastly the vocals will bring me to the unlikeliest of comparisons: Blur. The vocals of "I Am" have a slight British accent otherwise not present on the other songs. And the melody (not to mention its delivery) are pure Damon Albarn.
Distilling these songs to their various components cheapens the quality of them, so I should say that all four tracks are solid rock songs with tight grooves and catchy vocals. The Moving Units offer it all artfully mixed together if you have any interest in the new batch of rock coming from New York, be it The Strokes, !!!, or Liars.
|
