For anyone listening to "Mojave 3" for the first time, as I am, first
impressions might be to quickly reach for a drink. Just something to
mellow you out, put you in that mood where you achieve just the right
blend of peace, tranquillity, and - hope. Hope just as easily could
translate to despair as the emotionally spurring and gently strung
earthy tones whisper gracefully through your own private airwaves. You
wonder about life, love-tender moments that transgress through time
where you become one with loneliness even within a crowded room of
pleasure seekers.
But only until enough time passes for the sun to shine
through. With "Anyday Will Be Fine" the outlook changes. "Excuses For
Travellers" as a title might be translated in several different ways. but
as lead vocalist Neil Halstead seems to interpret during his own
self-inscriptions regarding his groups' third release, there's a measure
of moving away and moving forward slightly from the past and setting new
sights and new ventures onward in the distance.
All at once tasteful, wistful and soulful, "Excuses For Travellers" darts
in and out of
solitude with a soulful and folksy flare reminiscent of classic folk
travellers of the past. A little bit Dylan, slightly Simon, maybe even a
bit to the left of Ventura Blvd., but all at once, there's a certain
degree of vibrancy that crawls ever so slowly to the surface, though not
often - "Return to Sender."
This is Mood music for an acquired taste as modern
maturity with an atmospheric presence that takes the idea of "easy
listening" to new levels. Organically balanced in its travels en route
to discover bold new spatial forms of sequestered indulgence.
