Labels: ruined smile
Review by: Joao
Alright so here we have Moral Straightjacket’s s/t tape released by ruined smile. An interesting affair, an Australian label releasing a tape by an American band, doing a pretty good job with the packaging.
Immediately the vocals remind me of End of a Year, and the first song goes along in a style that is somewhat similar, albeit with a more rhythmic approach that may even veer on Moss Icon a little. The second song is much more melodic, and features some cool acoustic guitar that reminds me of something coming out from the revolution summer-era Dischord records. The rest of the songs seem to sit comfortably in that space between End of a Year’s modern approach to the rev summer sound (alright, the first two LPs) and something a bit more melodic and less frantic.
Side B seems a bit more interesting. Starts with some spoken words over a guitar, and then goes into a song that reminds me a lot of later Moss Icon songs, or maybe even Lungfish, with the vocals that sound almost mystical over a repetitive riff. They throw in some weird keyboards that I’m not sure how well they fit, but still it’s an interesting approach. From what I understand, the side B songs were recorded at an earlier date than the songs on side A, but they sound pretty consistent together.
Nevertheless, while the vocals have a sense of urgency to them, the rest does not seem to quite catch up in terms of energy, and it all feels a little lacklustre at points.
All in all, a pretty cool piece of emo in the 2010s that sounds inspired by the stuff from the late 80s early 90s, which is a rarity nowadays, so kudos for that. Certainly interested in seeing what this guys do later.