Things to Make and Do

by

Moloko

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Moloko have definetely proved themselves as true artists from their debut "Do You Like My Tight Sweater?". Followed by the (in my opinion) mediocre "I Am Not A Doctor". Moloko's third effort passes the first two albums in quality. "Things to Make and Do" is also better than Moloko's fourth album "Statues". Moloko is such a versatile and refreshing band that anything they put out will be excellent.

THINGS TO MAKE AND DO

1) Radio Moscow - A little piano-based 25 second intro. ^5/5^

2) Pure Pleasure Seeker - *SECOND SINGLE* - A fun, funky song with cathy lines. Great song to make you dance. ^5/5^

3) Absent Minded Friends - A darker sounding song. Rosin's vocals are strong in this one. ^3/5^

4) Indigo - *THIRD SINGLE* - One of my favorites on the album. The video for this one is great. This song has fun lyrics that are great to sing along to. This one's pretty funky. ^5/5^

5) Being is Bewildering - One of the slower-paced songs on the album. I love Rosin's voice twoards the end where she croons "just being is bewildering". ^4/5^

6) Remain the Same - This one sounds a little similar to "Absent Minded Friends" until the chorus rolls around where Rosin sings rather loudly "CHANGE MY NAME I REMAIN THE SAME". ^3.5/5^

7) Drop in the Ocean - A calm slow song that lasts about 1 minute 58 seconds. I like this one because it's one of the good chill-out tracks on the album. ^5/5^

8) Dumb Inc. - A fun song with fun lyrics. (i.e. "Dumb Dumb / So sweet so young / You're not suppossed to swallow your bubble gum" and "You and me are free to be the dumbest in town") ^5/5^

9) The Time is Now - *FIRST SINGLE* - An awesome song with a folky-sort of mood. Great lyrics. ^5/5^

10) Mother - A jazzy song to Rosin's mother, although the lyrics may not be very flattering. ^5/5^

11) It's Your Problem - A funny minute long interlude with just tons of little elctronic bleeps and flurps. ^5/5^

12) It's Nothing - Frankly, this one is kinda slow and boring. ^2.5/5^

13) Bingo Massacre - A 23 second interlude with nice music. I think the music for this one could have been turned into a song. ^4/5^

14) Somebody Somewhere - A nice upbeat tune similar to "Pure Pleasure Seeker"; just not as good. ^3.5/5^

15) Just You and Me Dancing - This interlude starts off with Rosin screaming. This one is kinda fun to listen to even though its only about a minute and a half long. ^5/5^

16) If You Have A Cross To Bear You May As Well Use It As A Crutch - A weird song that is mostly instrumental with occasional saying: "If you have a cross to bear I think it's fair that you use it as a cruth" in this weird psychotic voice. This is a good song to rock out to though. ^4/5^

17) Keep Stepping - A pointless 19 second interlude to barely any music where we here something like "Hands in the air...I wanna see you moving...keep stepping..." ^2.5/5^

18) Sing It Back (Boris Musical Mix) - A nice remix of "Sing It Back". A bit long though because a lot of the song is just music. ^3.5/5^

Overall, this album is Moloko's best. I give Moloko 5 star in creativity, effort, and overall quality. I love this disc and HIGHLY recommend if you want something refreshing and intersting.

Moloko has the knack to successfully evolve their sound while still sounding like Moloko. From "Do You Like My Tight Sweater" to "I Am Not A Doctor," the band made amazing musical strides. "Things To Make and Do" is an even further departure from their original sound, almost completely abandoning their funky electronic style for live intsrumentation and catchy pop riffs. Moloko's music is deeper than it has ever been, crafting wonderful tunes that unravel and grow more complex with age.

But as much as a departure as it is from their first two releases, "Things to Make and Do" is also a return to the band's roots in a sense. With "I Am Not A Doctor," the thirty-second interlude tracks were reduced to a minimum. With "Things to Make and Do," they are back in full rotation, getting more frequent as the CD wears on, making less room for actual songs. It is because of this that the CD sort of falls apart at the end, almost completely losing my interest until the remix of "Sing It Back." Granted, "Things to Make and Do" has some of the most finely-crafted songs in recent history, and the first three-quarters of the album is a masterpeice, but it can't stick together at the end. Definitely listen before you buy.