The Moles - On the Street/Rare & Weird
(Wishing Tree)
Probably better known for his solo work and Cardinal, the orchestral pop band he shared with Eric Matthews and Bob Fay in the early 90's, Aussie ex-pat Richard Davies initially led The Moles. This re-issue ties together the best of their early work and includes a disk of rare stuff that has never seen release anywhere else. Knowing what came later, I was quite surprised when I first spun On the Street. Velvety drones, garage-rock energy and a playful psychedelia help this collection quite memorable. Davies has a strong but skewed sense of melody that reminds me of old school New Zealand pop, and very often his songs will jump in directions you wouldn't expect, making each listen more rewarding than the last. The Moles weren't afraid to have fun with their sound and throughout the records twist songs around with various tape effects and keyboards. There is also a kind of New Wave sensibility at work here—especially with the keys that show up on Rare and Weird.
On the Street and Rare and Weird may come as a bit of a surprise to those who discovered Davies post-Cardinal but the records prove themselves to be quite a collection and a great introduction to the work of this underrated artist. My only regret is getting to this stuff now, not only missing it when it came out, but missing the reissues as well—they came out in October of last year man!
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