MOQSHA Moksha The Destroyer Vs. Dubzilla (Sugarshack)
Moqsha are a five-piece Bristolian 'collective', and "Moksha The Destroyer Vs. Dubzilla" is a mini-album, presented in a limited edition of 2000, that precedes their proper debut, which arrives in the summer. They play a slightly ragged and tatty-sounding trip-hop/indie/techno fusion, the kind of music that was briefly fashionable five years ago and recalls Sneaker Pimps (the female vocals especially) and early Death In Vegas. The lack of variety on display here isn't eased any by the plethora of remixes and edits that make up most of the album (there are three versions of "Super Massive Black Holes" - a runaway reject Stereolab song title if ever there was one, two of the title track).
Better by far are two live recordings taped at a hometown gig during October 1999. The two-part "Inspector Morse" impresses most, beginning with an Swans-esque vortex of melody-whipped coloured noise. But is it a good omen when the most complimentary observation that can be made about an album is that the best bits sound a little like Swans? Additionally, the singing on these concert cuts is hoarse and flat, verging on the painful. Ten years ago, Moqsha might have been blessed with visionary if roughshod potential. These days they're strictly car boot sale fodder.