[rating=8.00]
The Dutch quartet Mozes and the Firstborn’s third record Dadcore is catchy/fuzzy indie rock, loaded with heaps of 90’s alternative highpoints and a heavy dose of sparkling pop appeal. This is an impressive pack of ear-worming tunes from Melle Dielesen vocals/guitar, Corto Blommaert bass, Raven Aartsen drums, and Ernst-Jan van Doorn guitar.
Things are soaring from the opening title track, a cheerleader chant weaved around distortion and clipped drums before slamming into the screechy “If I”. The second song as well as tracks like “Amen” recall the mid-90’s alternative successes and would have fit snugly into MTV’s Buzz Bin back in the day; while the band clearly has reverence for acts like Nirvana, Teenage Fanclub and Weezer the sound and songs never become derivative.
Where a band like Dr. Dog sucks up the 60’s pop sound and filters it through their Philly spectrum, Mozes and the Firstborn puts a sunshiny spin 90’s radio-friendly grunge.
Their use of feedback expertly dirties up their immensely catchy offerings giving them a bit of backbone and bite. There is a slew of these arena-ready sing-along numbers such as “Sad Supermarket Song” with its warbling guitars and melancholy vocals, the organ aided “We’re All Saints”, the catchy “Hello” and the dance-ready first single “Blow Up”, something this outfit are poised to do.
The only misstep is the second half of the multipart “Scotch Tape/Stick with Me”. The glued together track tries to cram in too many ideas with spoken word tales of relationship break up/harassment from Kelsey Reckling and self-deprecating lyrics from Dielesen. The players also run wild with instrumentation, overdoing it like kids with access to their parent’s credit card in the App Store.
On a much brighter note, the group deftly displays an organic folk streak, most notably on the scruffy rambling gem “Baldy” which uses harmonica, jangles, and light buzzing to great effect before the brief “Fly Out I” and the more languid album-closing “Fly Out II” continue the earthy trend. Mozes and the Firstborns along with producer Chris Coady (Beach House, Slowdive), have winningly crafted a mix of pop/grunge (not just for aging fathers) on the delightful Dadcore.
