Review: Moaning Cities - D.Klein

I'll freely admit that I had never heard of Moaning Cities before the promo came through....but as the promo had come from EXAG Records and the last one from that label I reviewed was the mighty Wooden Indian Burial Ground, it pretty much guaranteed a prompt listen. Moaning Cities are a band out of Brussels, formed in 2011 "with an urge to play music together, blending blues roots, gritty rock'n'roll guitars and sitar driven psychedelia"...I'm sold! The album - 'D.Klein' - is out now on EXAG and it's a cracker!

'Expected' starts things in fine style...a rumbling bass line and the same psychedelic guitar sound beloved of so many of the Fuzz Club bands. Beneath the guitar sits a wind-like drone that gives the track a real sense of space. The vocals are understated and complemented beautifully by the background harmonising vox. It's one of those tracks that imperceptibly builds and before you know it has opened into a stormer with crashing drums and swirling guitars. 'Insomnia' takes its cue from 'Expected', with the same psych guitars but has a much more bluesy base...but again, as it gets going it becomes a hell of a lot 'bigger' with a garage punk/blues feel.....definitely sold by this point. When 'Born Again' begins, you'd be forgiven thinking that someone has slipped an early blues track in...the single gritty vocal that sounds 'lived in'..but when the band kick in things are brought bang up to date...for me, it is the vocals that stand out on this track..the dominant male lead balanced beautifully by some shouty female backing vox that brings an air of aggression and menace, matched by some real 'rawk'n'roll' guitar. 'Sex Sells' brings things down to earth...a noirish, sultry blues based number that positively oozes out of the speakers and shows a moodier side to the band. The track does evolve though, to become just as powerful as the openers but never losing that blues integrity....great stuff! 'Oggy Trev' (great title!) is a tease of a track; opening with what sounds like backmasked guitars, immediately imbuing things with a retro psychedelic feel, but in just over a minute it's over...no fair! 'Vertigo Rising' follows the brief interlude of 'Oggy.....' and has a Doors feel about it, especially with regard to the vocals. Musically it is another another psychedelic monster with some ace fuzzy blues rock guitar. 'Yell-Oh Bahn' starts with the sound of traffic and lugubrious spoken word before a motorik rhythm kicks in, over which plays a sitar and swathes of krautrock like keyboards. The vocals are spoken throughout, the effect of which is to heighten the overall retro feel...a brilliant track which offers something new on the album. 'Solitary Hawk' is another slow-burning blues based number, the vocals match the blues vibe, with a Nick Cave feel about them. 'Drag' sees the band return to the psychedelic bluster of the opening track...more reverb soaked guitar and vocals and another rumbling bass line, joined by sitar, and it all comes together in a glorious melange of psychedelic sounds and attitude. The album is brought to a conclusion with 'Dagger' and what a fine way to end.....more noirish, western tinged guitar and some female led vocals bring a moody aspect and a care worn atmosphere of yearning and loss...great stuff!

'D.Klein' is an exceptionally good album, mixing, to great effect, the contemporary psych of, say, The Black Angels, with blues and R'n'R, resulting in a body of work that is ever shifting and brings something new with each track. I don't know where these guys (and gal!) have been hiding, but I obviously haven't been looking in the right places. Another winner from the EXAG stable. 'D.Klein' is available now from the EXAG shop in vinyl and CD formats and as a download via the band's bandcamp page here.