Though moe. have always been appreciated for their humorous take on music and performing, they have always been underrated. Jam ability, talent, and they're even underrated in an underrated genre. They are of course a Jam Band, so they strongly rely on influence, live performances, cult followings, and jamming. Their main influences could possibly be Funk, Country, Reggae, Blues, Jazz, ect. They play plenty of genres, and show off many on this album.
moe.'s seems to only be recognized by Rock instrumentalists looking for some underground talent. Each member has great improvising skills. Whether it's Rob Derhak's ability to go from lead slap to rythm out of no where, while still flowing with the band well. Or Schnier and Garvey's intertwining riffs and lines that can easily be compared to Duane Allman's and Dickey Betts'. And finally Chris Mazur, who is easily the most underapreciated member of the group, who always manages to add great fills and beats to whatever is happening around him. Even there vocal ability is unique. Though technically not fabulous, each voice is different and could match their usually goofy sound any better.
No Doy is by most said to be a mediocre album by moe. However, I would most definitely disagree and say it's their best. Few bands can keep such a consistent trail of fabulous tracks like moe. can on this album. From "She Sends Me" to "Spine of a Dog" the songs are fantastic. And each giving a different side of moe. Like "She Sends Me" showing their fantastic talent for tempo changes. Or their great Reggae feel, and Beach Boy like vocals on "Spine of a Dog". Either way, no one can ask for more than what is laid out here. In addition, No Doy is presented with the greatest album cover ever!
She Sends Me
A perfect opener. "She Sends Me" is a love songs that incorporated great humor with a great mellow feel. Al Schnier's goofy voice could not be paired up with the lyrics any better. The spasm like guitar playing fills up empty space great, and the bass lines are brilliant. The song does change it's tempo at around three minutes also. It takes a more serious, Dick Dale surfer groove. Though it still keeps to the original chorus and harmonies. And soon enough the song heads back to it's original state which will end the song. The song does carry much ground in only four minutes. One of my favorite songs :)
5/5
32 Things
"32 Things" is opened with and lead by one of my favorite guitar riffs. It is rapid fast and sounds like it would be fabulous to jam to. The song is sang with a high level of attitude and is quite heavy for moe. and for any jam band at that. Derhak shows great slap, pop, and bass skills in general. His throws in various slap fills that add so much interest and excitement to the track. The drumming is great also, matches both the lead and rythm very nicely. The vocals by Derhak (I believe) are quite interesting to me. They just fit well. The various guitar solos are great, but I believe the dual guitarists' skills are shown in their jam ability. But I can't help but notice Schnier's styling relating to Jerry Garcia's on his first self titled album. Hmmm, interesting. Great, great track.
5/5
Saint Augustine
"Saint Augustine" is for sure a fan favorite and a common live performed tune. Though it usually played without singing and just jammed. Like many of moe.'s songs, they are just jams. But had some lyrics thrown on them to sell better, make a better performance, and to attract more of a following. I really like the lyrics and most certainly the vocals on this number. The vocals sound much like J. Mascis' voice from Dinosaur Jr. Other than the lead vocals, the other in unison vocals are high pitched and almost annoying sounding, but I like them. The vocalists state "God is light. Light is good. God is good." :p I guess moe. are religious? The electric lead playing combined with the background acoustic playing give the song a very rugged and messy sound, but in a good way. I'm always interested in the chord progression and just the groove. It's so upbeat. I'd always like to point out that the drumming is some of the best on the album, and very good. Fantastic song.
5/5
Bring you Down
"Bring you Down" puts most emphasis on the feel. Very Country influenced and almost Southern Rock sounding. I really like the vocals, the chorus is simple, but the lead vocals are sang beautifully. I also love the drumming and bass playing. Each flows and matches the other great. And with that great foundation for the song, Garvey and Schnier can and do give some wonderful solos. But through all the greatness the highlight for me would have to be the main guitar riff. It just matches the feel perfectly.
5/5
Rebubula
This track opens with some great noodleing on the guitar, and soon drifts away. But keeps the same upbeat chaotic tempo. It is this song that connects Schnier and Garvey to Betts and Allman in this track. The lines and dual guitar playing is quite similar. And to top of the great guitar playing, Derhak plays some slap. Which is always interesting. The song doesn't have much of an odd structure or anything, I can almost see it being a "song". But it still is catchy as hell and **** interesting and fun to me. I like the drumming here too. The drummer uses a single pedal very well, and uses great skill on the toms. Great song.
5/5
Spine of a Dog
Here is another great and goofy song. The song is mainly about differences between a couple. Which isn't a very interesting topic, but they surely make it one. The track opens with the group singing a list of comparisons between two people. All differences and all very silly. Shortly after that song breaks down into what would be the main sound of the song. The bass playing is odd, sounds very John Entwistle influenced. Many three note clusters and slides down the neck. The song has obvious Reggae influence to. Not necessarily the playing, but the sound and mellow feel. Around three minutes and fifty seconds in Garvey adds in an amazing solo, one of my favorites.
5/5
Moth
Here's is a very interesting. The vocals are odd, and especially are the backing vocals which occasionally add specifics to what the lead vocalist stated. The song is very Wah Pedal induced. And is easily heard, so the sound differs from all the others. There is no doubt that it is Country influenced though. In conclusion, the song is quite good, it sucks that it ends the perfection streak, but none the less the song is good.
4/5
Buster
Here is most certainly a Talking Heads influenced song or possibly more so David Byrne. The song has some Latin influence and is based upon a simple upbeat bass line. The guitar playing complements it and the drums of course support it. The playing by each player is rather odd. Whether it's the timing or just the outburst each includes. The chorus is extremely odd and almost erie. It completely switches tempos, keys, and just the sound. It becomes more experimental and techno; like The Talking Heads. The song is probably one of my least favorite songs on the album. Though it is exactly not that bad.
3/5
Four
Closing the album is of course "Four". An strange slow, experimental song with a curious and occasionally happy vibe and tone to it. The song is too strange for me, and definitely does not capture the bands common recorded sound nor it's common live sounding sound. Instrumentally, the song is okay, but it was a bad choice to close the album with this track. "Four" shouldn't have been on the album.
2/5
Well, I give this album a
5/5.
