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Hung Up On Breathing moodroom Fowl Records, 2002
Buy it online
Reviewed by Andrew Arora
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The alternative rock scene of the past couple of years has seen a revamp from its original roots. The regular substitute to teenybopper pop is a scene that is filled with too much passionless and over-produced rap/metal. Before the early 90s, the term "alternative" was rarely used to refer to rock bands; instead any music that jammed a little was called "hard" rock. Alternative rock was born in the 90s and has been pushed aside recently due to the success of substandard rap played with mediocre metal. Thankfully there is still an underground scene producing a skilled guitar driven sound prevalent to the alternative rock lineage. Hung Up On Breathing, the debut album from Washington DC's moodroom, is a fighting chance at rekindling this steadily abating rock genre. This album can rock like Smashing Pumpkins, jam like Veruca Salt. The vocals of moodroom's Stef Magro can seduce you in a way that was originally reserved for Garbage's Shirley Manson. A chick-led popular rock band is often overshadowed for the lead singer's vocal appeal versus the band's actual musical talent. moodroom delivers just enough popular rock and vocal charm to counterbalance each other. Hung Up On Breathing has been meticulously crafted to attract genuine rock enthusiasts and conventional fans alike, without losing its veritable rock integrity. This album has a style that makes me want to kick my own ass and figure out what my girlfriend would be pissed off about this time. It screams attitude with its rock songs ("Conversation," "Soft Distortion,") but also transforms in "Connection" by using an exclusive blend of trip hop to produce a fresh assortment of rock beats. The album's judicious tone systematically spits bitchiness with torn-but-confident lyrics about thorny relationships and emotional disappointment. This is apparent in its opening track's chorus -- "Don't you walk away/I've got more to say." Appropriately entitled "Loving," this song helps define the Garbage-like darker alternative rock sound that moodroom sustains throughout much of the album. In addition to the evocative lyrics, Hung Up On Breathing packs its real weight with fiery rock guitar sound that compliment every vocal summit and trough. In "Vibes" Magro's voice casually draws you in, and then the song erupts in an adroit display of guitar that would make any popular rock fan nod his head. "Vibes" and "Blue Skies And All That" remind us of some mainstream rock of the 90s by using a proverbial blend of music in the girl-in-love-Beverly-Hills-90210-technique. At first take, moodroom's influences seem to range only vaguely outside of alternative rock standards, in fact they sound so much like Veruca Salt that "Born Entertainer" would've fit in nicely on this album. But after a few runs, the album's pop and trip hop starts to surface. moodroom's trip hop inspirations are noticeable through the majority of the album but become apparent in "Vivid Glory" and "Gone," with some musical interruptions that jam quirky sounds versus incessant trendy rock tunes. If this makes you think of Portishead you are on the right track, just without the sometimes-hypnotized feeling you get from Beth Gibbons. Magro describes a "moodroom" (a place set up at a clinic
for troubled kids to be alone and do whatever they wanted)
as "a spot where you could vent your emotions without
reservations." With Hung Up On Breathing, moodroom
has created a radiant musical sound that succeeds in
creating its own attitude with callous lyrics, edgy rock,
and a taste of trip hop. This album will excite you and
dishearten you at the same time, because it will remind you
to ask yourself where are all the good true alternative rock
bands have gone. | March 2003 |
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