Creature

Review by Suzanne Goodwin

I suspect Moist are pretty pleased with the effort they put into Creature, but, sadly, it leaves a contrived effect that fails to impress.

While the CD is full of interesting writing and musical experimentation, it is just too done. The interesting content of their material becomes overly orchestrated and bogged down in itself, giving the CD a forced feeling that lacks any freshness or edge.

Where "Leave It Alone" effectively captures the nuances of the band, "Creature" fails with a mariachi trumpet intro to this brooding, creepy song. Kudos for the experimentation, but it just doesn't mesh. Where there's less experimentation, songs like "Baby Skin Tattoo" are just dull and echo previous tracks.

And so goes most of the CD. There's some interesting stuff, like "Resurrection," which builds on the intensity and style of the band's first release, Silver, but then it all gets lost on the ears with tired, repetitive tracks such as "Tangerine." Then back to something good again, and so on, and so on...

While this CD is far from unpleasant, Moist would have done well to have kept it simple. As it is, once the newness has worn away, it will be Silver, not Creature, that goes for a spin in my player.