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Track Listings
| 1. Familiar feeling |
| 2. Come on |
| 3. Cannot contain this |
| 4. Statues |
| 5. Forever more |
| 6. Blow x blow |
| 7. 100% |
| 8. The only ones |
| 9. I want you |
| 10. Over & over |
Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Statues may surprise Moloko fans pulled in by 2000's Things to Make and Do as this is no cheesy attempt to cash in on the Ibizian success of "Sing It Back" and "The Time is Now". With a voice like a latter day Kate Bush, anything sung by vocalist Roisin Murphy is going to come out sounding like the post-Apocalyptic gospel, and producer Mark Brydon's artistically complex arrangements are like hearing a new beautiful language.
The album begins in a dancefloor-friendly vein with the appropriately titled "Familiar Feeling", but "I Want You", the orchestral "Over and Over" and the somber title track are steeped in a newly grown-up melancholy. However, the mischievousness and electro-soul found in the likes of "100%" and "Cannot Contain This" are always there to bring things back to the party again. --Ruby Tuesday
Review
Roisin Murphy and Mark Brydonare back with the unmistakable sound of Moloko. Following 2000's Things to Make and Do,they return with an album that is fresh, keeping all the things that are good, buttoning down their darker side,and adding a more mature element, encompassing upset and sadness.
The quality of Roisin's voice, recorded intimately close to the mic, carries off the trademark posturing dramatics of the music. Sometimes this expresses unrequited love, as in "I Want You", and "Blow X Blow". Never before has heartbreak sounded so glamorous: many a jilted soul will find comfort in the vamped up confessions, backed always by contradictory cheerful latin inspired beats.
The opening floor filler "Familiar Feeling" has one to the best introductions heard for a long time: starting with Hammond noodlings,latin guitar and beats, flourishes of fiddles build up tension to an impossible level. The track appears to halt, then start afresh, with Roisin expressing a laid back philosophy: " I never doubted it: What's for you, won't pass you by". Self assured and going with the flow, the oncoming chorus is big enough to justify all that building up and knocking down.
Butin "Come on", they're back in that slightly dementeddark side, melodies leaping all over the place with snapping rhythms, outlined by electronic sounds singing along. Witha refrain of "ha ha ha" - you have the feeling that even though they might know that they're not quite all there, they're going to enjoy themselves.
One of the things that sets Moloko apart from other dance duos is their handling of instrumentation, often with simply structuredsongs renewing themselves time and time again, as they find new ways to say the same thing.In Statues this is something that they've excelled in once again. "Over and Over", the final track, conveys the ending of a relationship with eloquence and grace. Areal feeling of spaciousness has been achieved dramatic and beautifully produced strings, harmonised vocals repeating "over and over" rising and rising. Combining string glissandos with electric guitar, and death knells of huge orchestral chimes, the album closes as dramatically as it began.
These are real artists, and they know their medium as well as they know the craft of writinga song: beautifully. --Lucy Davies
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 26 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Anyone who has been bouncing along, again and again, to Moloko tunes of the past - probably mainly 'Sing it Back', 'The time is now' and 'Pure pleasure seeker' - and have prayed and wished that Moloko would make a full album of pure genius - the wait is over. 'Statues' is the first album to fully show Moloko's incredible talent - who would have thought they could create an album this - not only funky (we knew that) - but also stunningly beautiful, cool and calm. 'Forever More' challenges any cool Moloko mix ever made - there is no way of listening to this without dancing, the deep thumping bass shoots straight to the core of your bones. The surprises are the massively beautiful and heartbreaking, slower, darker tunes like 'Statues', 'Over and Over' and 'The only ones' - It's almost unreal to hear Roisin's usually playful, hard-funk voice sounding so genuinely heartbroken. This is an album stuffed with superbly crafted songs and top-notch lyrics. If there is any taste out there ( let's face it...it's a rarity) Moloko will make music lovers all over gasp in awe..
Buy this album!
Steal it if you must...
Buy this album!
Steal it if you must...
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
...anyone who's bought a Moloko album usually knows what to expect by now - the singles, a lot of filler and maybe one or two listenable tracks among this filler. Not a great recommendation, but Moloko albums have been consistently self indulgent not-particularly-interesting affairs.
Until Statues.
Housed in a bizarre sleeve showing Roisin emerging from a Cornish harbour, drunk as a skunk and sloshing her beer everywhere. This is one cool, cool lady.
Familiar Feeling opens Statues beautifully - the intro alone is worth the price of the album... blissful.
There's only one duff track on the album - and strangely, it's track 2, the old-style Moloko rears its ugly head on 'Come on', a painful choppy tuneless number that grates, especially coming right after the divine Familiar Feelings. The good news is that there's only one bad track - next up is the electronica tinged Cannot Contain This, five and a half minutes of technofoolery and arched, aloof vocals.
The best track on the album is the impossibly beautiful title track. Sounding like a modern day Marianne Faithfull, Roisin sings Moloko's greatest lyric.... "if all the statues in the world would turn to flesh with teeth of pearl, would they be kind enough to comfort me?".... the song ends with Roisin singing what appears to be the theme from 70s cop show The Gentle Touch - and it's no bad thing. This sounds like a band at their peak who know it - it's a brave song and it dazzles on an album full of gems.
The gloriously sassy, self assured Forever More is next, all throbbing pulsing bass and dark techno burbles - sounds like the sort of track Grace Jones would give her hat collection away for.
Blow by Blow is a happy enough Moloko by numbers type track, and things get back to life with the fabulous 100% - surely a contender for the next single, all Latin beats, perky chorus and tinkly piano. Perfect beach record.
The other track to take your breath away is The Only Ones. Sounding like a song from Alison Moyet's recent triumph, 'Hometime', it's a confident, sexy number based round a simple guitar riff. It oozes style and never has a vocoder sounded so sexy. Another great possible single.
I Want You sounds like the song Moloko should write for the Pet Shop Boys - with some cheeky PSBesque synth riffs, crazy orchestra swirls and an assured, crystal clear delivery from Murphy, this is a pure pop heaven number.
The album closer, Over and Over is a delightful 10 minutes of Craig Armstrong-like orchestration and melancholy. The final two mintes sounds like Depeche Mode during their metal banging phase..... a storming, never less than brilliant closer.
Until Statues.
Housed in a bizarre sleeve showing Roisin emerging from a Cornish harbour, drunk as a skunk and sloshing her beer everywhere. This is one cool, cool lady.
Familiar Feeling opens Statues beautifully - the intro alone is worth the price of the album... blissful.
There's only one duff track on the album - and strangely, it's track 2, the old-style Moloko rears its ugly head on 'Come on', a painful choppy tuneless number that grates, especially coming right after the divine Familiar Feelings. The good news is that there's only one bad track - next up is the electronica tinged Cannot Contain This, five and a half minutes of technofoolery and arched, aloof vocals.
The best track on the album is the impossibly beautiful title track. Sounding like a modern day Marianne Faithfull, Roisin sings Moloko's greatest lyric.... "if all the statues in the world would turn to flesh with teeth of pearl, would they be kind enough to comfort me?".... the song ends with Roisin singing what appears to be the theme from 70s cop show The Gentle Touch - and it's no bad thing. This sounds like a band at their peak who know it - it's a brave song and it dazzles on an album full of gems.
The gloriously sassy, self assured Forever More is next, all throbbing pulsing bass and dark techno burbles - sounds like the sort of track Grace Jones would give her hat collection away for.
Blow by Blow is a happy enough Moloko by numbers type track, and things get back to life with the fabulous 100% - surely a contender for the next single, all Latin beats, perky chorus and tinkly piano. Perfect beach record.
The other track to take your breath away is The Only Ones. Sounding like a song from Alison Moyet's recent triumph, 'Hometime', it's a confident, sexy number based round a simple guitar riff. It oozes style and never has a vocoder sounded so sexy. Another great possible single.
I Want You sounds like the song Moloko should write for the Pet Shop Boys - with some cheeky PSBesque synth riffs, crazy orchestra swirls and an assured, crystal clear delivery from Murphy, this is a pure pop heaven number.
The album closer, Over and Over is a delightful 10 minutes of Craig Armstrong-like orchestration and melancholy. The final two mintes sounds like Depeche Mode during their metal banging phase..... a storming, never less than brilliant closer.
So we finally have it - a truly great Moloko album, the record they've always meant to make. Slick, polished, beautifully crafted - Statues is nothing short of wonderful.
A summer album, and, after their awesome, show-stealing set at Glastonbury, one that looks likely to spawn quite a few hit singles yet.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Moloko's greatest strength has always been their very british quirkiness. However, unfortunately it is often this quirkiness that is their greatest weakness, often smothering the material beneath. NOT ON THIS ALBUM, HURRAH!!
This album has none of those weaknesses. Exquisitely crafted, beautifully produced and supremely well performed. Sometimes it harks back to the 70's and 80's, but does so without ever sounding dated. I tried to identify high points, but it is all fantastic, with maybe the tight electronic syncopation of the sublime "Cannot Contain This" perhaps edging its nose in front. This set of songs is a tour de force, from the stomping "Familiar Feeling" to the haunting "Statues" it gets better with each listen. Once the remix crews get to some of these tunes our summer is going to be filled with cracking floor fillers (quick Boris they're all over here).
This album has none of those weaknesses. Exquisitely crafted, beautifully produced and supremely well performed. Sometimes it harks back to the 70's and 80's, but does so without ever sounding dated. I tried to identify high points, but it is all fantastic, with maybe the tight electronic syncopation of the sublime "Cannot Contain This" perhaps edging its nose in front. This set of songs is a tour de force, from the stomping "Familiar Feeling" to the haunting "Statues" it gets better with each listen. Once the remix crews get to some of these tunes our summer is going to be filled with cracking floor fillers (quick Boris they're all over here).
AWESOME!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
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Just in case anyone else has been unsure - this edition is NOT an SACD (Super Audio CD) edition, contrary to the review posted by another customer below. It is just the regular CD.
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I am unaccustomed to writing this kind of thing, so I'll keep it brief.
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Published on 20 Mar 2004 by A. Knibb
New stars are born
As a newcomer to Moloko listening - memories of catchy dance tunes Sing it back, Time is now, but also seeing appearances on Jools Holland - I am stunned by 'Statues'. Read more
Published on 28 Jan 2004 by "kevo234"
Forward Thinking
This is the potential of the Brydon/Murphy partnership realised. A real class act with great musical scope and vision. Read more
Published on 25 Jan 2004 by Adrian Carter
100% One title that says it all
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