I would be lying if I didn't say that Mojave 3's fifth album was immediately met with a whole lot of trepidation, however, a few songs into the record I found myself bebopping to Neil Halstead and co's most upbeat release ever.
In their defense, this group has a lot of expectations to live up to: as Slowdive all three of their full-length albums were three of the most important records of the 1990s; and as Mojave 3 their development reached an unbelievable peak with the epic "Bluebird of Happiness" on their last album, Spoon and Rafter. Puzzles Like You has no epics, no songs that break the verse/chorus/verse mold, and no songs that even reach 4 1/2 minutes long. Mojave 3 have stated their intentions to get back on the road and make the live rounds as far as they can, so it's understandable they wanted to make something both upbeat for them to play and fun to listen to. While I might not have been expecting this album from them, their new sound actually proved itself to be a very amiable, enjoyable sound when I showed their first video from the record, "Breaking the Ice," on Thursday night to a unanimously positive reception at my video night here in Boston.
I can firmly stand by the first half of the album. If their historic pedal steel wasn't enough to indicate Mojave 3 are obsessed with America, the song "Truck Driving Man" should seal the deal, almost mimicing BTO's "Taking Care of Business" with its banging piano, but it's obviously a British group making the noise as it's got that slight tinge of ELO-style attempts at rock and roll. The title track is a catchy clap-along number while "Breaking the Ice" is a perfect hit formula single, with energetic guitars and catchy chorus "I know you want to get away / I know nothing ever stays the same." I only start having a problem with tacky lyrics on "Big Star Baby," when Neil Halstead sings how he doesn't want to be a big star. Fear not, Neil, it's not happening with that song.
The second half of the album is definitely the weaker half, with more songs I didn't find all that challenging nor mature for a band with 16 years of writing and recording experience who have achieved greatness on a number of occasions in various styles. While I love "Ghost Ship Waiting," I'm not fond of the accent heavy "Kill the Lights," with the silly refrain "Kill the lights 'cos I'm getting oldah / Watch the news and drink more watah / She likes a man with his trousahs shortah," which apes the musical style of ? & the Mysterians' "96 Tears." Neil's probably taking the piss out of the Brits, but I never found approaches like this clever nor witty.
Once classic elements, like a strong presence of Rachel Goswell, are sadly missing, however, a number of pieces remain in the group, showing themselves later rather than sooner: the pedal steel guitar and the warbly theremin underneath songs like "You Said It Before" and "To Hold Your Tiny Toes," but the framework is predominantly different. Puzzles Like You is a notably peppier approach than the group has ever taken and I can understand why they did it. While I think the album has its good and not so good moments, together with some of their timeless Mojave 3 classics like "Love Songs on the Radio" or "Mercy," the variety of repertoire has expanded for the better on the whole, and it could seriously make for some fantastic live shows.
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