Fairly Average
Brighton based group The Mojo Fins managed to survive the death of their vocalist and guitarist Jon Chandler and have come through with a strong indie album that features new addition Adam Atkins. ‘The Sound That I Still Hear’ is a pleasant indie album that plays smoothly from start to finish but lacks very much definition in between.
Tunes like, ‘In The Script’ are a fine enough listen with bright guitars, soaring vocals and just the right amount of emotion, but it still feels slightly lacklustre and as if it’s not quite reached its potential. ‘Not The Victim’ is full of nice sentiments, but just rather slow and shoegaze without a place to go, where it could be gentle and delicate, it just plods a little too much. The majority of the album comprises of glossy indie rock songs with a dreamy side, take the whimsical, ‘Trick of Light’ as a prime example.
‘Always Now’ is a brooding and driven love song with plenty of sighing backing vocals and sharp guitar work and probably one of the standout tracks from the album, while by ‘Between Stations’ the soft vocals have just started to become rather tiring with little difference in tone or intensity. The Mojo Fins just lack any edge that would save them from the threat mediocrity; they’re good at what they do, but what they do isn’t awfully exciting and you could spent an equally exciting hour listening to any other indie band at the moment.
There are pretty moments in ‘The Sound That I Still Hear’, but for the most part it’s unlikely to enrich your life so I’d steer clear unless you have a special fondness for trying out average bands. One of the most interesting tracks is probably infact the hidden track at the end, which offers some warbling guitar solo with the instrument yelping over a pretty backing, which at least makes it different to the rest of the album.