MOROSE

People have ceased to ask me about you

CD, suiteside

“La mia ragazza mia ha lasciatio”, the first CD by Morose released in 2003, was given a lot of praise by me, and I even took it to my place in the country to listen to on quiet evenings.[1] That means a lot. Because there are only about two or three dozen CDs out there, especially selected by quality and atmosphere, from “Solo Monk” to Glenn Gould and from CocoRosie to Marsen Jules. Therefore I was very excited when I heard about the new CD and was eagerly waiting for it to arrive. Would it live up to my expectation? Would there be a lot of changes? What would they be? Well, to make a short story not overly long: “people have ceased to ask me about you” is a wonderful record, full of surprises and great music, and will, I am sure, grow to my heart as strongly as “La mia ragazza” given enough time.

The first surprise came right away with the first song, “Ich bin der große derdiedas”, not only because the lyrics are in German, but because they are sung or rather spoken by my friend Bernd from Deep and Dhyana Records. Which, thinking about it isn’t such a far stretch since he introduced me to a lot of great Italian bands, like ONQ, Minmae and whatever was on Ouzel Records. (Hey Bernd, you have a nice voice that way. Maybe you could do radio specials.) There are more languages on here: Italian, English and French and one that might be in Spanish, but I am not sure about that one. Other things that haven’t changed include the album being recorded on an eight track recorder at home - but you won’t be able to hear it, because this is no lowly lo-fi. The variety of instruments that were used alongside the basic brushed drums, soft bass and lonesome desert acoustic guitar like a glockenspiel or a harmonica.

Where Morose really shine is in structures of songs and in using shapes and forms that are thin and stretched long but are able to make them rich and lush in atmosphere even when there is little sound. This way, what seems dreary and somewhat bleak at the beginning turns into an enormously rich and enriching landscape. The slowly to trodding rhythms help fuse these disparaging elements and fits the atmosphere perfectly. These are not the epic monsters of sound produced by Godspeed and friends that grow into big walls of sound over a quarter of an hour; these are real songs which are more like a long ride home through the country when holidays are over, a moment of common silence and contemplation in which words aren’t really necessary because nature is speaking loudly while you car runs through. The use of samples and field recordings is a new but were enriching element in this mix for Morose. Within that framework everything falls into place naturally and organically. And this organicality is another great thing about “people have ceased …” next to the structural shine and the ephemeral dreamlike state or atmosphere of the music.

I don’t know why but the field of music Morose work in is definitely one shaped in majority by US-American bands, from Wilco to Califone, so they will constantly have to live with the comparison. Don’t worry, they are able to stand up to all of them. But loneliness and emptiness of emotions is known everywhere around the world, as is the ability to put these feelings into art. Truly, this musical form fits these emotions better than some others. And Morose are able to fill the vast space with plenty of great sound formed into songs that seem to fill the room. If with tears or with joy (or both) is your choice, but everything is better than sheer emptiness.

P.S.: If you read the review to “la mia ragazza …” you have got the story of the title. I wonder, if the title of this record is just another installment in this part of life called seperation. But much more than that I wonder what will happen if the next record gets its title from someone finding true love or at least a happy working relationship and if so, in how much will the music change? Usually, I am very much against looking forward to the next record in a review of a record, because I find it really arrogant and enormously stupid, but this part of the review, about the title, is somewhat like story released in tiny bits, so I gues I am allowed to wonder, where this will lead us.