Moose

Moose were a British indie rock band who formed in London in 1990. The original line-up included Russell Yates (guitar, vocals), K.J. “Moose” McKillop (guitar), Damien Warburton (drums), and Jeremy Tishler (bass). After Warburton and Tishler left the band they were replaced with Lincoln Fong (bass), his brother Russell (guitar), and Richard Thomas (drums). (Wikipedia)

Moose playlist

Contributor: Brad West

What do you think of when you see the word ‘shoegaze’? It’s always interesting to me just what this word means to other people – what band it immediately brings to mind. It could be anything from the ubiquitous My Bloody Valentine to bands I don’t really lump into this genre like The Jesus & Mary Chain or Galaxie 500. You name a band with fuzzy, droney guitars, and someone somewhere has tried to call them ‘shoegaze’.

I take a more specific approach and tend to stick to the bands that were actually called ‘shoegaze’ when the term was coined. I’m talking Ride, Slowdive and my favorite, Moose, among others of that era.

Just like most early ‘shoegaze’ bands, it is often overlooked that usually only the earliest releases actually had that ‘shoegaze’ sound. Bands evolve, and Moose was certainly no exception. Their first three EPs, on which a full six of my favorite songs appear, were certainly what most would call ‘shoegaze’.

To these ears, Moose are the dictionary definition of the genre, and I judge all other ‘shoegaze’ bands by the sound they created on these first 3 EPs. But to call Moose a ‘shoegaze’ band denies the fact that every single one of their LPs and subsequent singles moved away from this early ‘shoegaze’ sound and into one more closely resembling dream pop or jangle pop. As a result of this shift, I also think they may have lost some of their early fanbase.

I was almost certainly one of those that walked away. I remember when …XYZ came out, putting it on and thinking “what is this?”. But I listened a second time, and then a third, and I got it. It made sense to me and I joined them on their journey. If you, too, stepped away after the first three EPs, here’s your chance to go back and see what you’ve missed.

I present my list in chronological order and, if listened to in this manner, you can get a sense, even on those early ‘shoegaze’ EPs, of the change in direction lurking underneath the fuzz.

Jack – Jack (1991)
Ballad Of Adam And Eve – Jack (1991)
Suzanne – Cool Breeze (1991)
Untitled Love Song – Cool Breeze (1991)
Last Night I Fell Again – Reprise (1991)
This River Will Never Run Dry – Reprise (1991)

I have chosen two songs from each of the first three EPs. Iconic songs that give rise to the genre as we know it. By the time of This River Will Never Run Dry, the cracks are starting to show and the light is starting to bleed through.

Don’t Bring Me Down – XYZ (1992)
There’s A Place – Liquid Make-up (1993)

Don’t Bring Me Down comes from their first full length album …XYZ and is a great representation of the style shift they went through after the first EPs. There’s A Place is probably my favorite Moose B-side, found on 1993’s Liquid Make-up EP.

Dress You The Same – Honey Bee (1993)
First Balloon To Nice – Live A Little Love A Lot (1995)

The last two songs come from their second and third full length albums, Honey Bee and Live A Little Love A Lot. Dress You The Same harkens back a bit to the sound of This River Will Never Run Dry.

There is a fourth album to explore as well as a single or two from each album with some nice B-sides, but I hope I have provided a flavor of what they bring and urge those who wrote them off after their first EPs to revisit what you’ve missed.

Moose unofficial website

Piroshka at Bella Union
Piroshka are K.J. McKillop, Miki Berenyi, Justin Welch, Michael Conroy

Russell Yates discography

Rob Morgan on Moose
(A Goldfish Called Regret 2014)

Moose – Peel Session – 16 April 1991 (YouTube)

Moose biography (AllMusic)

This is Brad’s first post on the site. He lives in Oklahoma and likes Moose a lot.

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