Things To Make And Do - Moloko

Moloko are one of those bands that every now and again get mass appeal and the random number one, and then quickly scurry back to the safety of their target audience. What their target audience is I have never been able to figure out. I had the pleasure of seeing them live when they were promoting their latest album “Statues” that came out last year. They did a gig in the Limelight in Belfast around March and it was made me feel warm deep down, even ...
...absolutely random people. Of course it was populated with students from Queens University but they weren’t the only ones, at all. People of all ages and dress codes were gathered there. Young couples; single middle-aged women and men and even a bunch of old farts (well maybe about fifty-ish) who had come up from Dublin to see them again. Anyway the sold-out gig was absolutely brilliant and if you ever get the chance to see them live, they will not ... more

Moloko are one of those bands that every now and again get mass appeal and the random number one, and then quickly scurry back to the safety of their target audience. What their target audience is I have never been able to figure out. I had the pleasure of seeing them live when they were promoting their latest album “Statues” that came out last year. They did a gig in the Limelight in Belfast around March and it was made me feel warm deep down, even though I went on my own. All around me were absolutely random people. Of course it was populated with students from Queens University but they weren’t the only ones, at all. People of all ages and dress codes were gathered there. Young couples; single middle-aged women and men and even a bunch of old farts (well maybe about fifty-ish) who had come up from Dublin to see them again. Anyway the sold-out gig was absolutely brilliant and if you ever get the chance to see them live, they will not disappoint. At the very end they had the whole crowd of about six hundred people singing in unison with them, which felt very weird. With no support act needed, they did a great set lasting over two hours that left me in a disgusting, but with a somewhat satisfactory, dried-up sweat. Needless to say I partied all the way home in my car at about one in the morning.

So Moloko doesn’t appeal to just one significant group of people. They don’t rule the roost of someone’s CD selection. Instead they are a definitely healthy contribution.

Moloko originally consisted of two people. Irish-Mancunian raised Roisin, pronounced “Ro-Sheen” not “Raisin”, Murphy met English Mark Brydon at a party or something (I believe in NYC) at some point in the late 1980’s. Roisin approached Mark and asked the now (in)famous question, “Do You Like My Tight Sweater?” So the story goes anyway.

I think Mark said yes.

Thus was born the title of their first collaboration, and in turn Moloko was born. I believe Moloko is Greek in origin, but in Russian it means “milk”. I don’t really know what it means in Greek but I have vaguely heard it may have some gay connotations. Regardless of that non-fact, it doesn’t retract anything from them at all.

Anyway after releasing “Do You Like My Tight Sweater”, they received critical acclaim. And so they should. Their first album defined the trip-hop genre. Having done that album, they released “I Am Not A Doctor” which I don’t think is their best to be honest, but it has its moments.

I preface too much! Let us talk about the album.

“Things To Make And Do” is the third album released by Moloko and was released in 2000 on The Echo Label. Joining the gorgeous Roisin (google search her for images) and not-as-gorgeous Mark is the not-very-gorgeous-at-all looking Eddie Stevens who plays the keyboards, the piano and the Hammond organ for Moloko on this album and also the subsequent album “Statues”. He’s a quirky one. He danced on stage, behind a plethora of keyboards and this kind of weird keyboard mouth organ, like some sort of demented Frankenstein’s Monster who wears a grey Bowler hat and dressing gown. At the end of the day, though this erratic behaviour is exactly what Moloko is about. Its erratic and its erotic. You feel the emotion behind every word that Roisin sings while Mark plucks away at the guitars and Eddie makes beeping noises from assorted keyboards. So what are the songs that Roisin sings?

1. Radio Moscow

This is basically the pianist (*snicker*) farting around and playing a couple of chords. It lasts less than half a minute. It just introduces you to what should be the first track

2. Pure Pleasure Seeker

Out of nowhere comes this obtuse saxophonist, pumping out a repeated phrase that vaguely sounds like someone with bad wind in an elevator. A minimalist drum beat starts and vaguely spooky notes on the keyboard are played. Roisin says “yeah” that makes you think you’re right about the saxophone, the main song hits afterwards. “Gotta get me some, gotta get me, instant gratification” and that’s what the song gives. It’s a great opening track with very strange lyrics. It feels as though Roisin is giving us come-to-bed eyes but through the tone of her voice. “Stoke up the fire, I’m all you require!” she belts out.

3. Absent Minded Friends

With most albums, you find the second track mellows off a wee bit from the initial blast of the first track. Not so with Moloko. “Absent Minded Friends” is a powerful, almost ballad like song. Rhetorical questions are sung throughout, making us feel as though Roisin is a bit nagged about something. At least that’s my perception.

4. Indigo

The first verse of this makes absolutely no sense to me. A group of people shout “Rameses, Colossus!” a couple of times followed by “Indigo here we go-o, Indigo here we go-o-o-o”. None the less it’s a funky piece of musak which doesn’t disappoint. The lyrics may make no sense, but that doesn’t stop it being a good song. An underlying deep electronic noise pervades itself in the background of the track that builds itself throughout. Simplistic drum beats combined with the synth beeps and bops make this another one of my favourites. It got some random air-time on the radio a couple of times.

5. Being Is Bewildering

Now, you remember what we said about track 3? This is where it ended up which is typical of Moloko being the conventional ones that they are. Being Is Bewildering is a slow track that has Mark playing slow acoustic guitar and Eddie on the organ. A gentle drum beat comes in and Roisin wails out lyrics that sort of make us empathise with her. What we’re empathising her with I don’t know. She’s unhappy but glad that maybe she’s unshackled the burdens of something. God knows what.

6. Remain The Same

An organ plonks its way into the song before being over-run by electronic noises and Roisin spattering out lyrics, all while the organ tries to play in the background. A mixture of vocal samples, organ, what seem like heavy electric guitar chords and the usual inimitable zoops and zing-dops that Moloko can only make. An exciting track to listen to. Builds up wonderfully at the end.

There are an awful number of tracks on this album. Eighteen to be in fact.

7. A Drop In The Ocean

Slight insecurities on the part of the writers? “I’m half full and my glass is empty. Say so long and wave goodbye” A short track lasting about two minutes. Like the jokers in Shakespearean tragedies, this does its part of slowing down the pace, or perhaps lightening the mood of the album.

8. Dumb Inc.

“Dumb dumb. So sweet so young. You’re not supposed to swallow your bubble gum.” Again, you could read a lot into Moloko’s lyrics and find some possible deep meaning. Or you could say they’re just pissing about and don’t give a damn what they’re putting down and that it just sounds good. I think its great and that’s what matters to me.

9. The Time Is Now

I think this one got into the top ten in about 2000/2001 and probably one you may have heard on the radio. Possibly the most normal song on the album in terms of lyrics. It feels as though she is beckoning us to come with her on some sensuously exciting trip. A mixture of violin and acoustic guitar along with drums and a cello for the heck of it. A piano is fiddled with at the end of the track. A good one.

10. Mother

Another one of my favourites. I think the songwriter again as some angst at their early life. But it doesn’t feel downbeat, nor does it feel upbeat. It’s dark without feeling moody. Its more of an explanation. Oh I don’t know. Listen to it yourself! It’s also one of better songs on the album. Deranged maraca type noises are made in the background throughout. The end of thing sounds as though Roisin is telling us off for some reason.

“Tell me what did you expect,
What you made
Is precisely what you get
Precisely what you get
Precisely what you get”

I haven’t done anything wrong I hope, apart from buying the album.

11. It’s Your Problem

Another one of those “filler” tracks. No lyrics, but it sounds as though we’re being sung to by distorted robot sex. No idea really.

12. It’s Nothing

Another slow, moody-type ballad song. Lightens the mood. I find with this album that you don’t need to sit down and listen to it, it can play in the background and your ears pick up on it. Actually. I’d always play a strategy game on the Playstation and it would always be Moloko music playing in the background. It became so that whenever I played the damn music I had a Pavlovian response making me play the game and vice versa.

13. Bingo Massacre.

Sounds like something played in a jazz club for about twenty seconds but has someone intermittently pressing the loop button by accident.

14. Somebody Somewhere

An upbeat melody pervades this great choon that sounds vaguely Austin Powers-ish. It’s a damn good song. Roisin is joined by some mystery singer who although am curious to find out who, I’ve never bothered to find out who he is. He does sound like the lead singer out of The Divine Comedy though. But its definitely not him.

15. Just You And Me Dancing

More farting about for about a minute, but with a bit more a song to it. Lasts little more than a minute. Weirded out organ joins slightly distorted Roisin voice.

16. If You Have A Cross To Bear You Might As Well Use It As A Crutch

A great title to a great track. That’s all the lyrics right there in the title. Its almost heavy rock, with guitars and drums thrashing about and Roisin wailing a bit. This song pretty much can end the album with the almost over-the-top feel to it. But the show isn’t over yet.

17. Keep Stepping

Keyboard farting around for twenty seconds and we finally get onto the last track.

18. Sing It Back (Boris Dlugosh Musical Mix)

Forgive the spelling of the surname of Boris but I *think* that’s the correct spelling. Well, this is the song that made them famous to most of us. This is song originally off “I Am Not A Doctor” and turned upside down and funked up by Mr. Dlugosh. This is the song that ruled for one year in Ibiza and clubs around the country and was in the charts for about 18 weeks, and at number one for at least half of them. It still re-emerges every now and again to this day on the dance floors. What else can you say?

I always think the best number one that ever came into the charts was when Bryan Adams’ contribution to Prince of Thieves film that was in the charts for 26 weeks (that’s half a bloody year) was knocked upside the head by The Prodigy’s “Firestarter”. Moloko’s song comes close to that. What else can you say about it? It was the song that had 600 people in unison in the Limelight screaming out the chorus “Bring it Back, Sing It Back, Bring it Back, Sing it Back to me!” I have great memories because of this. Roisin stopped midway laughing telling us over the mic that we were singing the wrong part because we just repeated that bit over and over again. It didn’t matter at all as she kept singing her bit combined with our part and it sounded fantastic. All you could hear around you was a mass demonstration of the Moloko appreciation society belting out their own lyrics right back at them.

I bloody well love this album. Its daft lyrics make no sense on their own but combined with the music they make, it just goes. There’s no better way of putting it. I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you want to get into Moloko this is the best album to start with. Its the most approachable of their albums. Its midway between “Statues” and their older stuff, obviously, but what I mean is that it will introduce you to their style brilliantly. Its very easy to get into. Its in that weird genre of music that really doesn’t have a genre, if you catch my drift. It can’t be pinned down by any normal boundaries. It crosses over them, jumps over them and drives all over them with the window down and the arm stuck out giving it to the man. The closest to it would probably be stuff like Goldfrapp or Mr. Scruff. Heck even Outkast’s new double album “Speakerboxx/The Love Below” almost fits into this description. So yeah, if any of that agrees with you, go out and buy it. Or download it and then go to their gigs.

They’re awesome and so are you if you get it.

[Moloko have a website, and its http://www.moloko.co.uk. Its alright and full of the usual band type stuff: discography, profiles, shop and what not. The Echo Label incidentally is http://www.echo.co.uk]
 

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