Review Summary: Prog Rock has never been more joyous!
I’d been informed of Moron Police on numerous occasions after delving deep into their close band-relatives, Major Parkinson. However, I found them a struggle to get into. At the time, the latest release was 2019’s ‘A Boat on the Sea’. It had a couple of tracks that I liked, but it didn’t contain the certain “spark” that turns a band into one of my regular listens. Indeed, the earlier material was even more difficult to grasp, and the obscene lyrical content was at times too much to get along with.
In short, the band was playful and technically proficient, but it wasn’t standout, and the lyrics were too crude to relate to.
Then Pachinko came out in 2025 after a lengthy hiatus. This was due largely – so far as I’m aware - to the sad and tragic passing of the band’s drummer Thore Pettersen.
Pachinko came out of left field, and though it shares a similar tone and style to what preceded it, it excels in practically every sense. The technicality is still there, but now carries a voiceless emotion that gives it life more than just riffs and beats. The lyrics are still strange and obscure, but the crudeness has gone and been replaced by something far more mature and intimate. The melodies are numerous and consistently glorious.
The story of this concept album is about a man being reincarnated as a living Pachinko machine. It’s bonkers and, honestly, it’s hard to piece together a consistent throughline over the album’s hour-long runtime. There are recurring motifs, musically and lyrically, and there’s some kind of plot there somewhere, but it’s all rather cryptic. That is really the only criticism for the album. But then, maybe it’s meant to be that way. After all, what kind of plot can be produced from such a strange concept?
If I were to describe the music as a whole, it would go thusly: Norwegian anime progressive pop-rock. Sound confusing? Probably. It’s unique, that’s for sure! It’s deep, tragic, but swirled in some of the most smile-inducing, twinkly compositions you’re ever likely to hear. You’ll sing along to parts of the album, and that’s a guarantee. I think that’s what a lot of what music is missing these days: it’s possible to be deep and meaningful while also being a jolly good sing-along, yet most bands fall into one of those as if they’re exclusive.
What about the songs? There are some absolute bangers here, and I’m not afraid to say that a solid number of these tracks have a place in my Spotify Top 25 playlist. Nothing Breaks, Alfredo and the Afterlife, Cormorant, Pachinko Pt 1, King Among Kittens and Take me to the City are safely nestled therein. The other tracks are unique and enjoyable in their own right, too. I will say that the quality of the album is slightly front-loaded, with the latter five tracks showing both a slowing in pace and lowering in quality. But that’s relative. Not one is skippable, barring the interlude Hanabi.
The greatest track is undoubtedly the centrepiece, Pachinko Pt 1. It’s everything that modern prog should aspire to be – it’s exciting, varied, emotionally satisfying, and no section overstays its welcome. The only possible criticism is that there’s a predictable pattern whereby each mini-segment plays twice before moving to the next. Less seriously, the character Uncle Louis, who is repeatedly referred to, reminds me of the National Lampoons character every time I hear the name.
Interestingly, the Flamenco section towards the end shares its melody with Major Parkinson’s Show Me the Money. It also contains a lyrical parellel to Fair to Midland’s excellent ‘The Greener Grass’: “I cannot wait for the ocean to swallow us all inside a watery grave”, and this was apparently deliberate. It’s a glorious moment where three of my favourite bands all somehow combine in one moment. It made me very happy.
There is, of course, a Pachinko Pt 2. It’s a great track, but it’s unfortunately overshadowed by Pt 1. They could have just been combined into one, honestly.
In conclusion, this is stunning album, filled with everything that makes for entertaining modern rock. Every little nit-pick I can find is washed away by the overpowering sense of joy it provides, one track after the next. It will be interesting to see where the band goes next, but it will take something special to match the level that Pachinko has reached.
