Electro playing, unit moving band.
As a name Moving Units is pretty suggestive and without knowing the act or their music you’re left unclear whether its a statement of intent or if it’s a tongue-in-cheek remark aimed at the dog eat dog world of the music business. Thankfully on ‘Hexes For Exes’, Moving Units prove that whilst they are capable of holding a tune and crafting good songs, they don’t go for the obvious commercial angle which is needed to go over ground.
News that the band have opened for Nine Inch comes as no surprise as the album starts off very darkly with ‘Pink Thoughts’ and ‘Crash N Burn Victims’ being very morose in tone and style and the immediate impression is that its going to be a long album to get through if the depressing mood continues. Thankfully, things take a turn for the upbeat on the third track and the album starts to deliver on the electro rock that was promised.
‘Paper Hearts’ has the sound of Bloc Party and thankfully the good side of Bloc Party shines through with the optimistic and reaching vocals flowing over the backing which whirrs away energetically. Maybe it’s the guitar sound moving so fast that it seems like a blur or perhaps the vocals of Blake Miller which have that dignified Anglo feel which gives it that feeling.
Its an album of different styles and it definitely takes a few listens to take it all in and view it as a collective piece of work. The cold electronic squelch of ‘The Kids From Orange County’ and ‘Dark Walls’ could easily pass for the rash of electro-dance bands of the moment but over the course of the record, there's a consistency that comes to the fore which so many of their peers lack.
More importantly, there are a lot of choruses and hooks throughout the record which would go down well on the radio and in the live arena and considering the band have supported plenty of big names in the past, they're probably getting ready to make a step up. Whether they’ve missed the electro bus or they’re maybe a bit too eclectic to fit neatly into one package is one thing but on the strength of ‘Hexes For Exes’, Moving Units would be a good addition to any festival’s afternoon line-up.
It just goes to show that first impressions aren’t always useful as after the first two songs, this album comes to life and manages to keep its tempo and shape well. Their name may be a reaction to the sell high attitude of the music business but if Moving Units aren’t careful they may find they end up shifting a lot of units themselves.