Mock Orange - Captain Love

[Klatzke]

Mock Orange - Captain Love
Record Label: Wednesday Records
Release Date: September 9, 2008

Mock Orange hit me like a wave. At first, I was strangely shocked by how eccentric it was. Very quickly thereafter, I realized that what I was listening to wasn't just peculiar, it was strange and wonderful at the same time. What threw me off at first had to have been the unique vocals of Ryan Grisham combined with the quirky and stylish guitaring from both Grisham and lead guitarist Joe Asher. Together, the two elements of the music combine seamlessly to create a strange but yet fun atmosphere.

Somehow, Captain Love finds a way to stay completely upbeat throughout the course of the album. While indie rock is normally commended for it's moodiness and emotional content, it never shines better than when Mock Orange is putting their own upbeat spin on it. The songs aren't moody, they aren't depressing, and they aren't really all that emotional. However, once you start spinning this album, you aren't going to care that it's missing those "key components" of the genre.

It's hard to choose which part of the orchestration leads this album. Having to choose between Grisham's strange vocal talents and the excellent 2-pronged guitar attack is like having to choose between super-strength and flying: you just have to have them both or the other won't seem nearly as enjoyable. Grisham's vocals are just peculiar enough to make them sound unique, which is a great, great feat in any genre today. The guitars remain quirky and expressive throughout the entire album. They may be a little less pronounced than the vocals, but you can feel them enthusiastically bouncing up and down across the tracks as Grisham lays down the lyrics. The lyrics deserve a note of their own. Lines like "We are so serious/ about everything/ check out this ring/ I got it from a chi-ld/ working on a land-mine/ oh isn't that crazy" really set up the feel for the album.

Even when Captain Love slows itself down a bit, the songs are pure gold. The folky "Old Movies" is a prime example of this. It moves slower than the other tracks, but that just adds more time for the vocals and lyrics to sink in. Another great thing about this band is that I can't really put my finger on their sound. They may not be pioneers, but it's hard to say that they write generic music in any way. They've been pigeonholed into the indie rock genre, but at the same time, I couldn't name a single band that I think sounds extremely similar to them. Their sound is original, cohesive, and has a style all of it's own.

This is one of those albums that's instantly accessible yet still a great listen weeks later down the road. Very few albums strike me that way anymore, and when one does, I know that I've happened upon something great. I can say with confidence that Mock Orange's Captain Love is easily one of the best albums I've heard so far this year.

Modest Mouse's Good News for People Who Love Bad News; Minus the Bear's Menos Del Oso
myspace.com/mockorange (http://www.myspace.com/mockorange)

[Klatzke]

Oh comon, someone's gotta like these guys, and if not, check them out.

[Burn That Shit]

One of my favorite bands, been listening since The Record Play. Haven't heard this yet but considering this review I definitely should.

[Klatzke]

One of my favorite bands, been listening since The Record Play. Haven't heard this yet but considering this review I definitely should.
This is my first experience with them, but it's been good.

Definitely give this a listen.

[Handraa]

Oh yeah.
this is my shit.

[Klatzke]

Oh yeah.
this is my shit.
haha, that sarcasm?

[Handraa]

Nope.
I really like this band.
You can't help but smile while listening.

[Jeremy Aaron]

Praise for Mock Orange: This is a great album, probably one of my top five of 2008.

Praise for Klatzke: Your reviewing skills are definitely improving. Nice job with this one. :appl:

[Klatzke]

Praise for Mock Orange: This is a great album, probably one of my top five of 2008.

Praise for Klatzke: Your reviewing skills are definitely improving. Nice job with this one. :appl:
Are you saying my old ones weren't good? haha.

[Jeremy Aaron]

Are you saying my old ones weren't good? haha.

I didn't really mean to insinuate that. In most cases, you can't say that the opinions expressed in a review are good or bad. I would have been more precise to say that you expressed your opinion well in writing here. By mere happenstance, I also agree with your assessment.

[Klatzke]

I didn't really mean to insinuate that. In most cases, you can't say that the opinions expressed in a review are good or bad. I would have been more precise to say that you expressed your opinion well in writing here. By mere happenstance, I also agree with your assessment.
It's cool.

and thank you again.

This album definitely is worthy of some praise.

[MikeJCotugno]

Nines and Sixes is one of my favorite albums of all time, and i just started listening to it a few months ago. I think this sways wayyy too far away from the original sound and im kinda disappointed i will probably never get to hear a new mock orange song like that again =(

[Klatzke]

Nines and Sixes is one of my favorite albums of all time, and i just started listening to it a few months ago. I think this sways wayyy too far away from the original sound and im kinda disappointed i will probably never get to hear a new mock orange song like that again =(
I've never heard their older stuff. What's it like?

[|ant|]

Haha, wow, I don't know how you can review something without listening to the entire back catalog of the band. It would definitely change your perception of this record. It is good, because I am a Mock Orange fan, but I would definitely say start with Mind Is Not Brain for an intro into Mock Orange. Personally, I would rate this album at a 60-70% maximum based on their previous efforts. It's enjoyable and fun, but by no means a classic album.

As for older Mock Orange, their first two albums, Nines and Sixes & The Record Play, they were just a completely different band. Nines and Sixes is their classic album for that (i.e. more riff-focused, Sunny Day Real Estate) style, Mind Is Not Brain is their classic for this (i.e. Modest Mouse) style.

An OK review, but I think your perception is skewed from not seeing the entire picture. As a reviewer myself (not for this site), I would say listening to the entire catelog of the band in focus is a prerequisite for any kind of insightful and meaningful review. But by all means, this band is definitely worth checking out; cite my rec's above.

[Grassr0ots]

Nines and Sixes & The Record Play own. Captain Love is solid but falls a little short compared to Mind is Not Brain in my opinion.

[updownleftright]

Haha, wow, I don't know how you can review something without listening to the entire back catalog of the band. It would definitely change your perception of this record. It is good, because I am a Mock Orange fan, but I would definitely say start with Mind Is Not Brain for an intro into Mock Orange. Personally, I would rate this album at a 60-70% maximum based on their previous efforts. It's enjoyable and fun, but by no means a classic album.

As for older Mock Orange, their first two albums, Nines and Sixes & The Record Play, they were just a completely different band. Nines and Sixes is their classic album for that (i.e. more riff-focused, Sunny Day Real Estate) style, Mind Is Not Brain is their classic for this (i.e. Modest Mouse) style.

An OK review, but I think your perception is skewed from not seeing the entire picture. As a reviewer myself (not for this site), I would say listening to the entire catelog of the band in focus is a prerequisite for any kind of insightful and meaningful review. But by all means, this band is definitely worth checking out; cite my rec's above.

Nines and Sixes & The Record Play own. Captain Love is solid but falls a little short compared to Mind is Not Brain in my opinion.

truth. mind is not brain is my favorite in their catalog. their latest was very good but it didn't hold me in like i hoped it would.

[Klatzke]

Haha, wow, I don't know how you can review something without listening to the entire back catalog of the band. It would definitely change your perception of this record. It is good, because I am a Mock Orange fan, but I would definitely say start with Mind Is Not Brain for an intro into Mock Orange. Personally, I would rate this album at a 60-70% maximum based on their previous efforts. It's enjoyable and fun, but by no means a classic album.

As for older Mock Orange, their first two albums, Nines and Sixes & The Record Play, they were just a completely different band. Nines and Sixes is their classic album for that (i.e. more riff-focused, Sunny Day Real Estate) style, Mind Is Not Brain is their classic for this (i.e. Modest Mouse) style.

An OK review, but I think your perception is skewed from not seeing the entire picture. As a reviewer myself (not for this site), I would say listening to the entire catelog of the band in focus is a prerequisite for any kind of insightful and meaningful review. But by all means, this band is definitely worth checking out; cite my rec's above.
I don't have to know the back story, in fact, I think it's probably better than I hadn't. I based this on my perception of the album from a fresh standpoint. Those people that have never heard of them wouldn't get any information if all I did was compare it to their previous efforts. Maybe you like the other better, but from my fresh standpoint, I gave this album a fair and honest review.

You can't say "oh, this is a bad review because you haven't heard their other stuff".. when their other stuff shouldn't matter for a review of this album. Maybe it's a step down from their other stuff? I don't actually know, but that shouldn't affect the score, etc for this one.

[|ant|]

I don't have to know the back story, in fact, I think it's probably better than I hadn't. I based this on my perception of the album from a fresh standpoint. Those people that have never heard of them wouldn't get any information if all I did was compare it to their previous efforts. Maybe you like the other better, but from my fresh standpoint, I gave this album a fair and honest review.

You can't say "oh, this is a bad review because you haven't heard their other stuff".. when their other stuff shouldn't matter for a review of this album. Maybe it's a step down from their other stuff? I don't actually know, but that shouldn't affect the score, etc for this one.

First of all, I never said your review was bad, at all. Secondly, perhaps that is just my style, but I like to be informed when I give reviews, and if you look at any successful reviewer, you will see that they at least TOUCH on how it stacks up compared to their previous works. It works as a transition is all I was getting at. I respect your view, but I don't agree with it. If this album hit you this hard, I think I could give you some recommendations that would absolutely blow you away. A large part of being a good reviewer (and journalist for that matter) is being informed, so you don't come off sounding like you don't know what you are talking about (not that you don't), or are missing pieces of information that would otherwise be pertinent and make for interesting inclusion. That's all I was trying to get across. I was NOT lambasting your review in any way, I was merely discussing the band, and how the review may have been better.

I did not mean to hijack your talkback, consider this my final post.

[Battle Hymns]

Weird, I just saw these guys at some random bar a few weeks ago. Never heard of them before that. Not bad though.

[beherenow]

this record is sooooo amazing, a few months after first listening im still loving it more than i did before.

[beherenow]

oh yea, Captiain love is a much better version of mind is not brain. Just cant compare the first two records to the last 2. totally different sounds.

[DriveLikeScott]

this band makes me so happy

[cosmicCataclysm]

Love this band -- started with The Record Play then went back to Nines & Sixes. This album definitely doesn't "fall short". Great album, band has a truly unique sound. Indie-rock band churning out solid tunes for roughly 10 years. I don't think it's important to listen to their back catalog as the previous poster mentioned.. This album stands on its own. Great video for Song in D on Youtube!