THE MOOG – Razzmatazz Orfeum

Rock from Hungary? Yup. It’s….it’s…I dunno. This is weird. I mean, it’s real tight. It’s got some tried and true influences, like snippets of Bauhaus, some Pulp moments, those slew of bands that all sounded the same and started out with The Strokes…kinda a neo-romantic-synth rock, goth-pop-wave sound (how’s that for an ass-hat description?). It’s just the same feeling that you got with The Strokes. You know it sounds good the first few times, and then you’re over it by listen four. Catchy, hook-y, bouncy, sugary, but you know damn well it ain’t gonna last for you.

These frilly-shirted dudes could be the late summertime Franz Ferdinand for somber teens in search of more black makeup just as they trudge back to school. Very “flavor-of-the-moment” vibe to it (see “The History Of That Band Orgy” for reference points).

(MuSick Recordings, PO Box 1757, Burbank, CA 91507)