Review Summary: Unable to fully achieve the quality of their peers, Moose Blood still create a renlentlessly catchy and upbeat summer release.
Throughout
Blush, Moose Blood exhibit their natural ability to engulf the listener in infectious melodies and continuous integration of upbeat instrumentation. Although the instrumentation fits well with the overall upbeat and summer tone, it occasionally loses focuses and allows the vocals to reign as the focal point of the album. Moose Blood doesn't permanently restrain the songwriting and puts on a quality display of showmanship in "Sway," instantly captivating and continuously interesting, being one of the more angst-fueled tracks layered with a glimmering guitar lead and dominant bassline. The more stripped-down "Shimmer," begins solely with a gentle guitar, continually building into one of the most critical moments of the album. Despite certain moments of crisp songwriting, the focus on vocal work ends up dulling the instrumentation.
Blush's main selling point remains within the melodious vocals, catchy choruses, and thematically focused lyrical content revolving around love and heartache -- the perfect nostalgia magnet. Most people have fallen in love and gone through heartache, hence the easy relatability of the subjects. It's been done countless times, but Moose Blood convincingly pulls off the theme more often than it falls flat.
Following the fascinating introductory track "Pastel," the album loses steam quickly and remains ineffective until the second half. The first half contains an abundance of similarly-structured songs that stagnate and lack any interesting moments. However, once "Sway," arrives, the album's highlights stretch from then on until the end and keeps in pace with one another.
While
Blush has its moments, especially in the latter half, its flaws of uninspired instrumentation and uninteresting song variety during the first half of the album hold it down from being a crucial summer release.
