Despite being a reasonably solid effort, Augie March's third full-length, Moo, You Bloody Choir, likely won't do anything that the much-superior Strange Bird didn't do to expose the group to a larger fan base four years prior. This isn't an entirely surprising outcome, however; though many promising elements shine through the Australian outfit's mid-tempo dream pop -- leader Glenn Richards' excellent craftsmanship, striking lyrics and pretty, well-molded vocal work and harmonization, to name a few -- ultimately the group gets bogged down by the very things that initially make them so pleasant. Their too-smooth, incredibly homogenous sonic textures relegate half the album to almost nondescript blather, which largely lacks a distinctive spark. The soft and downy instrumentation is the most significant culprit; the wash of piano and strummed, reverb-drenched electric guitar quickly wears thin, and is broken only on the ig-band /p>
ovelty opening of "The Honey Month" and on a handful of other songs. That said, the group still manages to reach a fair number of peaks, which provide reason enough to not ignore the album entirely. The strong first three tracks are starkly pretty, lilting songs in the passionate vein of Jeff Buckley's more subdued, romantic work, utilizing some subtle dissonances and a very satisfying harmonic balance, particularly on the circular flow of the opener, "One Crowded Hour." It's also hard to argue with such evocative imagery as "But for one crowded hour, you were the only one in the room/ I sailed around all those bumps in the night to your beacon in the gloom." Unfortunately, by the time "Stranger Strange" rolls around, the plaintive mood settles into repetition and listeners' attention spans are likely to wander for several tracks. Things certainly pick up with the much-needed kick of the rocker "Just Passing Through," which leaves in its wake several of the album's more alluring tracks as the mood settles back into subdued melancholia. Richards evokes another of indie rock's more romantic figures -- Ryan Adams -- on "Bottle Boy," where his voice achieves an expressive interplay with the guitar and background harmonization that is somehow lacking in much that precedes or follows. Moo, You Bloody Choir picks up once again for the last time on the lengthy simmer of "Clockwork," where Richards sings "Oh singer, I don't believe your song, or your lying lines." While that's far from the case with the singer's own fine lyrical poeticism, it's hard not to take most everything else about this album as anything more than for granted.
Augie MarchMoo, You Bloody ChoirJive/Zomba (US), Sony BMG (Aus)Eight stars (out of ten)Augie March conjure fourteen little worlds here, fourteen scenes, fourteen sets of characters. Fourteen proper songs. The band’s commitment to an idea is never less than total—every note, word and beat does its work in conveying something worthy. Over the course of this, their third album, the Melbourne grou
More >
So I saw Augie March last night and thought I'd tell you all about it. For those that don't know them, they're a bunch of fellas from Melbourne that have three albums to their name, and are currently touring the third. Moo You Bloody Choir, which recently won the Australian Music Prize.It's a good record, too, deserving of an award, but it's even better live, as the gig, at Sydney's Metro Theat...
More >
Augie March is a very talented band, also from Melbourne. They are fronted by one of the premiere vocalists in the biz -- during a concert we saw by them a few months back, my wife (who is a musico herself) compared him favorably to Jeff Buckley, and that's no small praise.Something of his voice is lost on album (and here on YouTube), but you can still enjoy some quality songwriting, musicians...
More >
Augie March are from Melbourne, Australia and are one of my favourites. While I don't like comparing artists to other artists, I can't help but mention that their vocalist has a very Jeff Buckley-esque sound. The music is quite complex and has baroque touches and some interesting arrangements. Great songwriting though - I'll be seeing them soon in Sydney for the first time, will be interesti...
More >
The Augie March album Strange Bird was one of my favorites of 2004. Thus, I was excited to see that the immensely talented Aussie band released a new full length in March. Moo, You Bloody Choir is another very good Augie March album. I chose "very good" over great, stupendous, fucking awesome and the like because I see them as a band poised for greatness, but not quite yet there. I have faith i...
More >
Check out this new Augie March video from their upcoming album, Moo, You Bloody Choir.
More >
I came across this tune today. I've heard it now a few times, and it's really starting to grow on me. There are a few posts on Augie March, but not much music to listen to. So here is a great song by a new band.
More >
The Augie March album Strange Bird was one of my favorites of 2004. Thus, I was excited to see that the immensely talented Aussie band released a new full length in March. Moo, You Bloody Choir is another very good Augie March album. I chose "very good" over great, stupendous, fucking awesome and the like because I see them as a band poised for greatness, but not quite yet there. I have faith i...
More >
So I saw Augie March last night and thought I'd tell you all about it. For those that don't know them, they're a bunch of fellas from Melbourne that have three albums to their name, and are currently touring the third. Moo You Bloody Choir, which recently won the Australian Music Prize.It's a good record, too, deserving of an award, but it's even better live, as the gig, at Sydney's Metro Theat...
More >
Augie March is a very talented band, also from Melbourne. They are fronted by one of the premiere vocalists in the biz -- during a concert we saw by them a few months back, my wife (who is a musico herself) compared him favorably to Jeff Buckley, and that's no small praise.Something of his voice is lost on album (and here on YouTube), but you can still enjoy some quality songwriting, musicians...
More >
Augie March are from Melbourne, Australia and are one of my favourites. While I don't like comparing artists to other artists, I can't help but mention that their vocalist has a very Jeff Buckley-esque sound. The music is quite complex and has baroque touches and some interesting arrangements. Great songwriting though - I'll be seeing them soon in Sydney for the first time, will be interesti...
More >
Augie MarchMoo, You Bloody ChoirJive/Zomba (US), Sony BMG (Aus)Eight stars (out of ten)Augie March conjure fourteen little worlds here, fourteen scenes, fourteen sets of characters. Fourteen proper songs. The band’s commitment to an idea is never less than total—every note, word and beat does its work in conveying something worthy. Over the course of this, their third album, the Melbourne grou
More >
| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
|---|---|---|
| 1 One Crowded Hour |
|
|
| 2 Victoria's Secrets |
|
|
| 3 The Cold Acre |
|
|
| 4 Stranger Strange |
|
|
| 5 Mother Greer |
|
|
| 6 The Honey Mouth |
|
|
| 7 Just Passing Through |
|
|
| 8 Thin Captain Crackers |
|
|
| 9 Bottle Baby |
|
|
| 10 The Baron of Sentiment |
|
|
| 11 There Is No Such Place |
|
|
| 12 Clockwork |
|
|
| 13 Vernoona |
|
|
| 14 Vernoona |
|
|
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Moo, You Bloody Choir")
