music review

::: Moksha ::: "A People Undone"

mellow ambient pop electronica

Recorded between 1992 and 1998 this album features an expected diversity while also being cohesive. The music is characterised by bubbling arpeggiated keyboards, dreamy strings, sparse percussion that reminds of 1980s e.b.m. and male vocals that range from warm and melancholic to despairing. About half of the tracks, however, are instrumental.

As for comparing Moksha's album to other groups you may know of, it reminds me of the mellower material by Controlled Bleeding, such as the album 'Songs from the Ashes". It also strikes me as an album that fans of the record label 4AD, in particular groups like This Mortal Coil and the Cocteau Twins, would greatly enjoy. Tracks like "Rawhide", "Anarchy of Separation" and "Consecrated Virgin" explore the mellower trippier side of e.b.m. and remind of contemporary American projects "Testube" and "Mentallo and the Fixer". It is fitting that a remix by the latter, of the track "Eggshell", also features on the album.

My initial favourite tracks are "The Risk you take" with it's acoustic guitar driven folkishness; "Anarchy of Separation" with trippy bubbling synth lines, howling vocals, and mechanical bass; and the enchanting instrumental "Miss", which has a very nostalgic dreamy quality, a bit like a music box that hasn't been opened since childhood; all the far-flung memories come flooding back. Overall, 12 tracks span 50 minutes.

Available for: $10.99 USD. Contact: ArtOfFact Records, 1057 Steeles Ave. W., PO Box 81630, Toronto, ON, Canada, M2R 3X1. E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.artoffact.com