The Best Thing I Heard This Week-Motopony

I must admit that I almost didn't listen to this record because the band calls itself "Motopony." I was harboring under the illusion that I would not like any band that started with the prefix "moto." Well, we all make mistakes, I guess. Motopony's self-titled debut is pretty fantastic. It's polished but not cheap, and deftly manages a mid-tempo pace without falling into a malaise.

The real premium track here, certainly one of the best of the year, is "King of Diamonds." Allmusic stated that it sounds like "latter-day Radiohead, with an honest-to-God melody instead of Thom Yorke's ambient wailing." Which, besides making me laugh, also rings true. I've been humming this song for damn near three months and I'm still not sick of it. I would hasten to add that the lyrics are a cut above any recent Radiohead release as well. The lyrical structure of the song cleverly weaves cards and love, which sounds both unoriginal and trite, but it is executed perfectly.[1. I've been looking for the King of Diamonds / but I guess the queen will do...I've been looking for the King of Diamonds / You know I've got the other three / Spades and Clubs they just ain't shining / and my heart knows nothing's free...I've been looking for the King of Diamonds / but the Queen will work just fine / I've been looking for the King of Diamonds / until the dealer made you mine.] Have a listen:



Motopony also features a strong opening track, for which I am always a sucker. How can you not listen to a record that begins: "It's finally happening to me / the thing I just had to believe / It will be seven years in June / I know my time is coming soon/ I told her everything I know." The band manages to tie the melody of the opener, "June," into the reflective opus that is "God Damn Girl," which begins the slower, more self-conscious and folk-driven second half of the album.



A lot of this record reminds me of OK-Computer era Radiohead, just as the band was starting to blend electronic sounds into its music, but hadn't let them take over. There are elements of that all over Motopony, but it's done with a light touch, adding texture instead of obscuring melody. Lead singer/songwriter Daniel Blue stated that "a lot of people run from machines into nature, and a lot of people run from nature into machines. Somewhere in there, there has to be a balance." The balance on the record makes a lot of sense once you take that quote into account, it certainly seems to have been a conscious decision. Motopony are able to temper the emotional punch of songs like "God Damn Girl" and "Wake Up" with the alt-country rock of "Seer" and the Deer Tick-esque hillbilly rock of "I Am My Body." All of which make for a calculated yet flowing record that's easy to go back to, and the best thing I heard this week.