Dear Son,

Thanks so much for your letter last week, it was nice to hear from you.  How is Rome? I’m glad the band you went to see last week were good, and on your recommendation I decided to find their CD.

I didn’t quite realize what strange music you listen to, to be honest. I know you didn’t get it from your father..  upon going into HMV and asking for ‘Hopi, the new album by Moka’ I was greeted with a rather strange stare, but I eventually managed to track down a copy.  When I got home and placed it into the CD player, I was rather excited.  The textures on show are reminiscent of the beginning of most given Explosions In The Sky tracks, and wholly indicative of the general nature of the pieces.  While this is not exactly an original sound, the band manage to carry it quite well. It is always hard to dislike an album that sounds so soothing, but when this is the case, the appeal is often very limited. 

What the album does have going for it however is quite well hidden.  Many of the songs have a glossy exterior, as do many bands utilizing the guitar-delay-gap-distortion method, but this example is slightly different.  Venturing into the territories of Red Sparowes-esque chorus and melody gives the songs an added depth and inherent gloom which is simply not present in many of Moka’s peers. This added emotional depth also injects the pieces with some much needed drive and helps to differentiate them from the whole host of other clones there are out there, but not enough to elevate the collection above a typical collection of post-rock tracks, unfortunately.

The feeling within each piece is consistent and flows along nicely, but when greeted with such tracks as "Christian Is A Crazy Boy," in context with the rest of the album, it seems a little out of place, and therein lies half the problem. As standalone tracks, there are some brilliant moments. When you consider the type of music Moka make however, this is not quite enough... and that is the other half of the problem. Listening to a whole album is never meant to be a chore, and a competent, enjoyable, or even exceptional release should never make you want to skip tracks, and this one does.

Some beautiful moments are hidden within the depths of Hopi, but too much digging is sure to make anyone weary. That’s why I was so surprised as I finished reading your letter dear, i’m glad you enjoyed it, but it is (in my opinion) nothing to write home about.

Love,
Mum

(Barry Smethurst)