Punknews.orgPunknews.org Logo
Review Navigator

BackForward

Features

 

Contests

 


Reviews



Moros Eros

Jealous Me Was Killed By Curiosity
2007
Victory

Moros Eros - Jealous Me Was Killed By Curiosity (Cover Artwork)


Review by: GlassPipeMurder
See others by this writer


[staff]

Official MySpace (link)

Only registered users
can post comments


Print this Review Send this Review to a Friend
Victory Records (Logo)

Published on November 27th 2007

Who else is bummed about the Blood Brothers splitting? No one will ever be able to fill their shoes, but at least with Moros Eros emerging within the last year, that giant void of dancey, spastic post-punk isn't quite so wide.

While the Blood Brothers ascended on the strength of their ornamental and abstract lyricism, letting dischordant shrieks erupt freely throughout their songs, Moros Eros relies on a much more controlled inflection, utilizing melody in lieu of verbose rhetoric and opting for rather plebian musings hinging on topics of heaven and hell. But still, there are those moments, like in the angular "Safety Net," that the syncopated rhythm and choppy guitars remind me of some of the less hardcore moments on Crimes and Young Machetes. Anyway, to the point...

Jealous Me Was Killed By Curiosity is especially impressive because it has come on the heels of the band's unreasonably good debut. 2006's I Saw the Devil Last Night, and Now the Sun Shines Bright was a delightfully unique post-punk album that didn't sacrifice much accessibility on its way to a challenging and peerless sound. And amazingly, this time around, Moros Eros has evolved without losing any of the qualities that made their debut so unique and memorable. Side by side, Jealous Me doesn't seem to be quite as hard-hitting as I Saw the Devil Last Night, but that may be due to a production job that left the drums sounding slightly padded in songs like "Old Friend" when compared to last year's stuff like "Make Me an Angel." Also, singer Zach Tipton reveals much more melody on tunes like the gorgeous opener "Quit, You're Being Thoughtless" and the dreamy punk drifter "Lows and Highs" than the shoutier At the Drive-In-styled vocals of I Saw the Devil Last Night.

Though the digitized rock of "Pride and Joy" is probably the least musically agreeable track on Jealous Me, its lyrics paint a self-critical perception of the apathy that plagues Generation X: "On the corner where the whores subside / In the alley where the homeless sleep at night / When I turn on the television / I take a bottle of those prescription pills / To make me feel just a little bit happy / And hide me from the ugly truth that will forever be haunting me."

If there's one thing I can generalize about hating, it's long songs. Yet Moros Eros pull off the 6:11 "The View From Below" with seemingly substantial ease, as they bounce from jangly space waltzes to racing punk pulsations multiple times throughout the song.

Consistently underrated and cast off due to any number of trivial associations, Moros Eros are virtually batting 1.000. They've followed up a stunning debut with one equally wonderful, though totally different. For the second time in two years, Moros Eros have delivered one of the best albums of the year.



People who liked this also liked:
The Lawrence Arms - Oh! Calcutta!The Decemberists - The Crane WifeRefused - The Shape of Punk to ComeThe Lawrence Arms - The Greatest Story Ever ToldA Wilhelm Scream - Mute PrintP.O.S. - Never BetterCursive - Mama, I'm SwollenThe Wednesday Night Heroes - Guilty PleasuresGet Up Kids - Something To Write Home AboutThe (International) Noise Conspiracy - Live at Oslo Jazz Festival [reissue]



Please login or register to post comments.
What are the benefits of having a Punknews.org account?
  • Share your opinion by posting comments on the stories that interest you
  • Rate music and bands and help shape the weekly top ten
  • Let Punknews.org use your ratings to help you find bands and albums you might like
  • Customize features on the site to get the news the way you want.

    Posted by ASVLN12 on 2008-02-25 00:19:36
    My Score:

    great cd. great band.

    Posted by Kursk on 2007-11-28 07:32:58

    i really liked MOST of their first album save a few songs so I will probably end up checking this out at some point when I get the opportunity.

    Posted by vaginalinferno on 2007-11-27 19:54:37
    My Score:

    i'm a big moros eros fan, seen 2 really good shows and own both cds. I dunno if this is quite as good as saw the devil but it's definitely good shit. i expect it to grow on me down the road

    the only thing that bothers me about these guys is the instances where the vocal melody follows the guitar exactly, that just bugs me. dude has an awesome voice though, and these guys are like, 20
    check em out

    Posted by ryanonthembta on 2007-11-27 12:25:36

    I actually played this record on my radio show the other night without knowing anything about it. It wasn't really my thing but it wasn't too bad.

    Posted by INDW on 2007-11-27 05:43:33

    i never did check out ...and now the sun shines bright but i guess i might have to check them out on the back of this. it would seem unfair to give a band that puts more effort into their album titles than most bands do into their album no play at all.

    p.s. GPM Eds - you can't be "so unique". you are unique or you are not. sorry.