Review Summary: “Look@Ugo,” “Oh! Frenchy,” “Sunshine,” and “Roll Up” are some of Tangerine’s standout tracks. Mosie (the New Jersey Bratwurst Bop music duo) tells a fun and full concept album story. This album has heart and plenty of dance moves in betw
I'm stoked to introduce Mosie to Sputnik with a review of an album I thoroughly enjoy: Tangerine. It's the second full-length album by the creative duo Mosie. I chose to review Tangerine because Mosie's sound has truly refined - they've become something worth sharing. It's hard to find similar albums; their genre-bending sound is THAT singular. The term they coined to describe themselves is “Bratwurst Bump”: think dance-y hip-hop, funk, and R&B bass and beats, with full, thematic filters on their synth, vocals, and guitar.
I’m back on my bull and listening to concept albums about romantic tribulation! This is a pretty long album, with 14 songs. Mosie does something I really enjoy and haven't heard on a contemporary R&B/electro-funk album. Similar to Radiohead's OK Computer or Queens of the Stone Age's Songs for the Deaf, the album features fuzzy tuning, assorted transmissions, and other mood-setting audio samples (whether it’s a Miller High Life ad or ice cream truck music) to move the album along. This gives the album a concept-record feel - rarer in its already unique genre - and makes it special to me. The album chronicles one of the member’s, Jessie LeVines’ modern romance- its highs and lows, and ultimate ruin. LeVines purposefully pitched his voice differently to create different characters in the story of Tangerine.
My personal, hand-picked daily cherries, in order of banger-ness are: “Look@Ugo,” “Oh! Frenchy,” “Sunshine,” and “Roll Up.”
If you only have time for one track on this album, make it “Look@Ugo.” This has what it takes to break through, with its catchy bassline, smooth and a little cocky lyrics, and a lil disco strut. I even caught my dad bobbing his head to this one once in a rare moment of enjoying modern music.
“Oh! Frenchy” is also essential and worth noting second. Of all songs on the album, this one seems pop-y enough to be on the radio. It’s a fun track about your girl brushing her teeth before bed lol and it’s an all around a great song.
“Sunshine” is a smooth atmospheric R&B song with a fun applause and tempo change in the middle, almost as if the band is stepping out to vibe with their listeners. If "Look@Ugo" is the cool strut that beckons you into the album, "Sunshine" is Mosie warmly floating down with you. This song is their most vulnerable and really plays into the concept well.
My final banger from this album: “Roll Up” This song is a release. It is a super fun dance track to rebound from the intensity of the previous track. I always find myself dancing to this song when I get to this point of Tangerine. The lyrics and vocals get stuck in your head… even if you don't know what they're saying.
Tangerine is structured like a relationship arc. The first three tracks: (“Tangerine,” “Strayhorn,” and “Just the Thought” are bright, danceable come-ons, pulling you into the orange world. The next three (“High Life,” “Sunshine,” “Taxi”) keep the energy up but start to drive the narrative forward, hinting at cracks beneath the surface.
Then comes the turn: “Oh! Frenchy,” “Lemon-Aid / Pinocchio,” and “Roll Up” dig into jealousy and coping. Emotions are messy at this point in the album, as the grooves stay strong. “Marilyn” is the darkest point - a nightmarish slow burn tempo, with screams buried in the mix. It’s surprisingly progressive and hard. Waking up from the nightmare, “Three Prong Sing-Along” leads into the emotional rebound. At this album’s climax, “Look@Ugo” hits: the confident, cathartic peak.
The final two tracks are “Gingerbread” and “Clementine (Ain't No Clean)”. They send us off with lyrical callbacks to the beginning of the album. It’s a logical, earned break. We receive resolution to a love story that was never simply sweet, but a little sour and VERY easy to get lost in. :)
