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Review Summary: I don't think they should do this anymore I think their debut album was just a fluke at this point. That record, I'll Keep You In Mind, is a fantastic album where almost every song could be a single. The follow up, Blush, was pretty bland, although had stand-out singles in Honey and Knuckles, with Cheek and Sulk being alright. In retrospect, their sophomore effort was was a fairly uninspiring release that started promisingly, but drifted off a lot towards the end of the record. In the interviews I watched of them after it sounded like they went into the studio hoping to come up with some magic again, but just didn't really.
This album, their 3rd release, is painfully average and devoid of any real personality and creative spark. It might as well be a Blush B-side. The first 8 tracks are all fairly forgettable and are about as 'Moose Blood by numbers' as you could get. Glenn Harvey, who deservedly left the band amid sexual misconduct allegations, is not particularly missed on drums with new member, Lee Munday, putting in a fairly decent performance, although it's only really Kyle Todd on bass who has a few standout moments sonically. It's strange how Blush starts off quite well and potters off, because this record only really picks up in quality towards the end. The last 3 tracks, 'Such A Shame', 'Promise Me' and closer 'It's Too Much' are the best on here and are the only tracks that offer some kind of progression - It's Too Much is a brilliant example of the sort of stuff they should be writing now. It's the only song on here that could make a case for being in the top 10 songs they've ever written, which for a band only on their 3rd album release, is very telling.
When you're a band that has this much controversy hanging around you, with fans and media outlets (albeit not the big ones) dropping you like flies, you need to put out a much better record than this. 'Blush' had a very minimalist feel, with the artwork epitomising that aesthetically, but at least it felt a bit poetic. The artwork for this looks like something a 14 year old would knock up in 5 minutes and post on Tumblr - minimal effort, rather than minimalist. I feel not so much a sense of anger or disappointment at this album, but more, apathy - and that seems to stem from the band itself, even the title "I Don't Think I Can Do This Anymore" feels like a soliloquy to it's audience letting them know that the writing is on the wall for this band.
In truth, it's a very uninspiring album and I think this is probably the final chapter in their back catalogue. It's not a bad album by any means, lyrically it's actually fairly good and it's obvious that Eddy, the lead singer, has had a rough few years, which sometimes translates to fantastic albums for these sort of bands, but it very much feels like Moose Blood are treading water and on auto-pilot at this point. It's a shame to see what has become of a band that had so much promise and personality when they burst onto the scene, although I'm sure many out there understandably do not share the same sympathy - it doesn't please me to say it, but I really don't think they should do this anymore.
| other reviews of this album |
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Album Rating: 2.5
Bit of a disclaimer - I didn't really intend to make this a full review, it just sort of happened as I was writing my thoughts in the comments and it said it was too long.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
This isn't really that different to Blush? I think it's really cool tbh
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^ With regards to that, this review definitely feels like a stream-of-consciousness sort of thing. It's not that bad really, though there are some grammatical issues and maybe some formatting aspects that can be corrected. I will say that I didn't get too too much sense of the musical content outside the fact that it's pretty minimal, which I suppose is enough if the album is average. Not bad overall, especially as your first review for the site.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Maybe I am being a little harsh, but I do have high standards for this band because the debut album was that good. Some of the songs from the early EPs and splits like 'Girl' were really great too. I honestly thought they could go on and develop to become the UK's answer to Brand New, but they just seem to have transitioned into another one of the boring alt-rock bands churning out average melodic rock. I honestly don't think their heart is in this anymore but they're maybe just not that thrilled at the prospect of going back to 'civilian' life.
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band needs to die
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at this point it seems like they're killing themselves, so you might get what you wish for soon
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
had such high hopes for this band, but this review pretty much sums up my feelings. it's a shame
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Wasn't the lead singer accused of sexual misconduct too?
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
Not really a fan of this band, but after reading this it doesn't feel like a review and more of a rant+timeline. It barely talks about the album itself.
| | | Album Rating: 2.5
Pleasant album, but rather unremarkable. I wish they could reproduce the quality of the debut LP because that album was a lot of fun.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
Just saw them this evening and the songs held up a bit better live so hopefully that means it will be a bit of a grower
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
This is a good review. I like the tone a lot. You do make a lot of comparisons to Blush, however, so much so that it might've been wise to have made that your thesis -- to have really emphasised that point and made it ("Blush B-sides") your tagline. Just for the sake of remaining as focussed as you are in the intro and conclusion. Nice work, though, keep it up.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
Album's okay, but it's kinda funny how it ends with the lyric "I think I've had enough."
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
For an album with such emotional subject matter I literally don't feel anything in the slightest listening to this even though its catchy and fun in places
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
love it when album titles sum up my feelings towards the record itself. seems to be happening quite a lot.
| | | Album Rating: 1.5
this makes me so sad tbh
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Haven't listened to this and don't intend to after Eddy's accusations (which the band are only addressing now nearly a year after they came to light by threatening legal action against the accuser), but it sounds like I'm not missing anything here anyway.
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Haven't listened to this and don't intend to after Eddy's accusations (which the band are only addressing now nearly a year after they came to light by threatening legal action against the accuser), but it sounds like I'm not missing anything here anyway.
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
See I didn't know about the accusations and didn't know they had more accusations past just the drummers or I wouldn't have gone to see them.
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Yeah, this is pretty bland. I loved their debut, and I really enjoyed Blush, but this just feels so half-assed. Aside from All The Time and It's Too Much, there is nothing of note here. Sad that this band seem content with just copy and pasting their work with every successive album.
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