Mooreish, the latest long player from Whiskey General, is a remarkable experience, eclectic and adventurous, but consistently on the money; it is, perhaps, a reminder that some of the greatest albums are the ones where artists have abandoned the idea of genre altogether and just made the music that came naturally to them. Albums such as Led Zeppelin IV or The Clash’s London Calling.
Of course, it is far too early to tell if Mooreish will be regarded in the same way, but in terms of diversity and songwriting, it is undoubtedly on the right path.
Opener, The Beast does all the things that classic rock is meant to do in terms of groove, energy, riff, and power but does so without evoking any of the cliches of the genre. It’s big and boogiesome without being bombastic or bravado-filled. It employs a touch of indie-finesse and no small amount of pop accessibility. Not a bad way to kick things off.
But don’t get too comfortable: “Love Like A River,” which immediately follows, is built on ambient drifts and world music vibes, proggy anthemics, and fantastic dynamic changes. Somehow a world away from the opener and yet feeling like the logical next step.
And so it goes, “Ride or Die” is fabulously folky, running on tabla beats and acoustic guitars, but big when it wants to be, “Wind Up Toy Car” is modern indie-pop with just a hint of the eighties golden age of post-punk alternative pop and the brass-soaked “Shotgun” could easily be a long lost track from a “Squeeze” album, which is pretty high praise in my world.
I love the adventurous spirit of this album, I love that no one song is enough to explain what might be coming next, I love that Jay Serrao is happy to run all over the musical map and bring back whatever sonic shiny things catch his magpie-like eye to build his creative nest.
We might be in a post-genre world, but even so, rarely do we find albums that are both this diverse and this well-crafted. “Wildfire” alone made my day!
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