Mojo Fury –Visiting Hours of a Travelling Circus
Review By Ian Cusack
Having formed in 2004 and with three EPs under the belt, it was about time Northern Ireland’s Mojo Fury released their debut album. That said, when we consider the face-lift the band has experienced,going from a three piece to foursome with Michael Mormecha migrating from behind the drum kitto front the band as vocalist and guitarist, the delay becomes understandable.
For fans of Mojo Fury, Visiting Hours of a Travelling Circus will be worth the wait, whether this ten track LP will see their cult following grow to an army is less obvious.
The two sounds which characterise the album are established in tracks one and two. Curtain Raiser ‘The Mann’ is a raucous blend of powerful guitar riffs, pounding drums and throat shredding vocals, a turbo charged soundtrack for anarchy.
This breathless number is followed by the utterly danceable ‘Bones’ a tune as funky as it is varied,with old school guitar tapping, jazzy keys and rolling drums all grabbing the spotlight at different stages.
The engaging opening wanes to a degree, as the album progresses somewhat predictably with crests and troughs, screams and melodies. Mojo Fury’s alternative rock sound verges on hardcore,the band loitering somewhere between Queens of the Stone Age and Alexisonfire, with an eerie resemblance to InMe when Mormecha turns on the vocal growl.
‘We Should Just Run Away’ and ‘What a Secret’ stand out among the ten tracks. Their huge,clean-cut studio sound will be sure to divide listeners. The band really explore their range on ‘We Should Just Run Away’, mixing low-fi synth with power-balled guitar and echoing vocals to create cinematic, almost poppy sound.
The probing guitar and hollow snare intro add a sinister edge to ‘What a Secret’. It’s hard to resist totemptation to shout along “Thank you very much, thank you very much but I have had that before”as Mormecha repeats the line with increasing vigour.
Visiting Hours of a Travelling Circus won’t go down as the most original release of 2011 but it has undeniable moments of quality. The repetitive guitar lines and erratic shifts in decibel demand a specific mood to digest the LP but when the mood is right this album will go down a treat.