One of the first skills any fledgling rock critic learns is to dismiss
forthright any band’s alleged formula/recipe for how it crafted its
sound: “We’re like the Beatles meet Led Zeppelin with a touch of the
Monkees and a hint of Parliament-Funkadelic!” inevitably sounds like
lame John Mayer (and yes, I know that’s redundant.) But the Chicago
quartet the Moses Gun couldn’t help but pique my interest when bassist
Rich Harris wrote to promise “a multicultural band that grew up
listening to Todd Rundgren’s Utopia, Wu Tang and Husker Du…. sort of
like an African-American Pixies, or Queens of the Stone Age.” And guess
what? The band actually delivered it.
Former by Harris and
guitarist-vocalist Vell Mullens in Wicker Park in the mid-’90s and
completed by drummer John Marszalek and second guitarist Kudzai
Kasambira, the group has certainly taken its time issuing a proper
recorded debut. But a new demo showcased on its Web page (www.myspace.com/themosesgun)
holds plenty of promise for an actual album or EP, from the martial
grooves of the verses yielding to the anthemic indie-rock choruses of
“Gold” to the tuneful hard rock of “Stream of Consciousness,” which
brings to mind Living Color jamming with Dinosaur Jr. That’s the thing
about formulas/recipes: It’s hard to stop once you get started.