Album Review: Moses Gunn Collective - Mercy Mountain

This debut collection from Moses Gunn Collective is impressive and diverse.

Title tune Mercy Mountain ambles along with a satisfying swagger and the odd jangly and high-pitched bridge, while a couple of tracks later Desdemona echoes and soars just enough. There's something of a break with New Romantic Novacaine, which is a straighter pop tune than the others, while Mulburry builds to a mid-album instrumental relying on a slide guitar riff that loops and builds its speed slowly to great final freak-out effect — Animal from The Muppets would be proud. From here on Hot Mess and Back Into The Womb push the vibe forward to a futuristic gangly guitar — little slightly dirty ditties of the type Custard might have presented back in the day. There's also a touch of surf slide reappearing — nicely done (especially for a winter release!).

Towards the end, Colour Television offers a return to syncopated and echoey sounds, supported by a simple call and response and a classic love story aimed at the box. Closer, Neighbourhood is different again, led in with a simple, almost country-like guitar and simple and close vocal — impressive in its sparseness when compared to the rest. Nice closer, well done.