Moose

Three LPs into Moose's career, this is only the London group's second U.S. release. Its only predecessor was a hasty, thrown-together EP from 1991 called Sonny and Sam, released on Virgin, a hodgepodge collection culled from their earliest singles before they really tamed the beast on the import-only ...XYZ, Honey Bee, and Live a Little, Love a Lot. What's most surprising isn't even that Moose remain proud and resplendent like a king in finest royal robes when the world has been robbed of Lush, Pale Saints, the Boo Radleys, Slowdive, MBV, and the Kitchens of Distinction. It's that -- to borrow an English expression -- they're still so bloody good. No slowdown? The second song, "The Only Man in Town," ranks among their finest, up there with "I Wanted to See You (To See If I Wanted You)," "Little Bird (Are You Happy in Your Cage)," "Uptown Invisible," and "Rubdown." The ascending line of the sudden violin is a thing of unqualified beauty, and the textural grace throughout is unmistakably theirs. It's a twilight-and-tea feeling, of Sunday evenings when the work is done, of curling up with your old lady or old man and reading a book -- the simple, relaxed gratification coming through despite the gigantic hook. A similar feeling permeates "Yves Klein Blue" and the subconscious, moody Swervedriver/Stone Roses-like instrumental "Lyon to Modena," but the EP opens with a new wrinkle: a bit of a smacker. Using the same production and background tickling-touches, the up-tempo tune "Can't Get Enough of You" chugs its way out of your speakers. It's a good idea to try a faster one after a three-year absence, and the band's continued viability is announced in convincing fashion. (P.O. Box 262, Kingston, NH 03848; saltwaterrecords@yahoo.com) ~ Jack Rabid, The Big Takeover, All Music Guide