Statues

The album begins in a dancefloor-friendly vein with the appropriately titled "Familiar Feeling", but "I Want You", the orchestral "Over and Over" and the somber title track are steeped in a newly grown-up melancholy. However, the mischievousness and electro-soul found in the likes of "100%" and "Cannot Contain This" are always there to bring things back to the party again. --Ruby Tuesday

I keep turning to this album, and find myself getting more and more out of it each time. This is genuinely original music. It doesn't try too hard, but has a depth and edge that just ain't around all that much these days. Roisin Murphy's inimitable vocals are complemented by some wonderful semi-orchestral arrangements (you can get lost in the hypnotic strings of 'Over and Over'), and basslines (the upbeat 'Forever More' makes me sing out loud every time!)

Moloko's best work by a distance. Love it!


Killa Bunnies have been well and truly buried!   August 7, 2005
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Moloko have always turned out unique and individual music. 'Do you like my tight sweater?' had some great stuff mixed in with the genuinely unbearable ('Killa Bunnies' anyone?). 'Things to make and do' seemed to confirm the pressure to churn out new releases was quickly strangling their genius. But 'Statues' is a total revelation.

Instrumentally it is varied and original without pushing the boundaries just to impress. There are fat funky analog sounds, beats are perfectly judged, and the string samples never sound grafted on. Much of the album is in a minor key but this is not fake sincerity. Instead it is the perfect canvas for Roisin's heartbreaking lyrics, which mostly concentrate on the fear of lonliness and the subjectivity of emotion ('Though you dare to deny it, I'm always reminded of you' from 'I want you'). Roisin's delivery should humble any wanabe pop princesses - Step aside for the queen of heartfelt dance music!

Someone commented this album is a bit 'samey'. When there's this much concentrated brilliance on offer I personally wouldn't have it any other way!


Moloko - Statues - SACD   July 28, 2005
 4 out of 6 found this review helpful

This is the first album I purchased from Moloko based on other reviews of the audio CD. I am just getting into SACD and I would recommend this to anyone that had a liking for the classic pop Moloko track "The Time Is Now" although not included, that track gives you a marginal sense of 'some' of what you get here.... but for those that reviewed this on CD only and gave it 5 stars, you need to invest some wonga and go get a SACD compatible player, a 5 channel AMP, then prepare for a whole new experience. Moloko make good use, but not overbearing, of the surround sound qualities available. Some sounds pan around the room but there is a good balance of what's placed where. I'm no audiophile, but I think I can give a resonable account that this is a good example of SACD and thoroughly recommend it.... and I have a cheapie setup -- Sony surround Amp-99 - was half price from Argos some months back, 40 sub from Richer Sounds, Eltax bi-polar rears - cheapies, Sony cubes for front left and right - second hand off ebay, and cheapie Eltax Centre 9.95, Pioneer DV585 DVD/SACD 120 -- so, naff setup as far as investment, but sounds awesome.


Familiar Feeling?   March 20, 2004
 3 out of 3 found this review helpful

Well well well. Moloko are the kind of band who make me worried every time I listen to them. Worried, that is, that they are going to split up any moment, and leave me scouring the second hand CD shops in search of something to fill the void...

Fortunately for the time being they appear to be going strong. After the hard-going but rewarding Things To Make And Do, Roisin et. al. decided to make an album of "songs". So here we are with ten full length tracks (minus the 8 bitty filler tracks that sometimes detracted from their earlier fine work).

The CD opens where The Time Is Now left off, a semi acoustic samba based number Familiar Feeling. A lifting soaring track that moves and shifts constantly. Later, Statues (probably the most melancholy Moloko tune ever) laments with the fantastic lyric "If all the statues in the world would turn to flesh with teeth of pearl, would they be kind enough to comfort me?". There are a few lower points, unhelpful votes at the ready chaps - we all know that's what you use them for - the fairly lacklustre Come On and Cannot Contain This, but the standout tracks more than make up for the lack of imagination elsewhere. Moloko are a band that command and earn forgiveness in droves.

Bless 'em. Please don't split up, cheers.