Wild-style technicolour future-pop
Who They?
A hugely promising South London five-piece led by vocalist, songwriter and producer James Ratcliffe alongside longtime friends Dan Byrne, Connor James, Sophie Parkes and Matt Taylor. Moa Moa have a joint mission to “create unpredictable, ambitious and hook-laden songs that take all the best bits from their diverse musical backgrounds”. Straightforward enough.
Why Moa Moa?
The alchemical concoction they brew sounds like nothing else around – fierce, spirited and joyfully experimental, yet also unfathomably and disarmingly accessible. They really do sound like the best-case scenario for the future of alt-pop, such is their dazzling, inventive and maverick approach. This truly intoxicating mix absolutely rivets from the opening notes of new EP ‘Brain Feelings’, which you must listen to at your earliest possible convenience. Oh, and also because the singer really knows how to work autotune, using it in choice moments as an experimental instrument more akin to the vocoder, to distort and bamboozle in ways that are long overdue. If there’s any justice in the world, they will be garlanded with awards, prizes and ecstatic praise from all angles soon enough.
Tell Us More…
You’ll hear influences as diverse as Battles, Terry Riley, Bollywood and foot-stomping glam rock on ‘Brain Feelings’. Yet there’s an astonishing level of originality and vibrant intensity at play on tracks like ‘Information’ that will alert your attuned ears to something quite different. Psychedelic synthpop hasn’t had an allure as strong as this since MGMT or Tame Impala first crashed onto the scene. But Moa Moa’s pretension-free, searching musicality and lyrical singularity suggest a rare potential for longevity. Quick, get involved…
‘Brain Feelings’ is out on Incredibly Bland
