This is the music that formed me, but I lost my relevance over a decade ago.
In the same way the trickle-down model of wealth means those at the bottom get a kick to the teeth with a leather dress shoe, or how topping up your parent’s bourbon with water gradually dilutes the bottle, the music of each generation after the golden age of rock has progressively devolved.
The coffin’s final nail came when the gatekeepers of the mass music media realised they could tap into the true holders of a household’s purse strings; tweens. This has had the cultural effect of sculling drain cleaner.
But Mojo Alice isn’t a band that play for the media, or the unenlightened held in its thrall. If they were we wouldn’t be hearing music like this. This is a boot stomping blues rock band for fans of music before whinging became cool. A time when we idolised anarchy, not realising that this future world is the physical embodiment. A time when Lemmy was still with us.
Liquid Sin, Mojo Alice’s debut, reminds me of Lemmy. The vocalist has a voice that sounds like she spent a lifetime gargled gravel, yet at the same time has a touch of that whiskey sweetness before the burn hits.
It reminds me of Motorhead in general actually. No pretence, not gimmicks, this album is a tight set that would translate directly to the live stage.
The band play off each other’s strength. The powerful back-breaking, hard-hitting drums, the eye-popping growls and wails behind the microphone, the bone-shattering driving bass, and the face-peeling riffage and shredding licks of the guitar come together as one beast. Obeying the riff and groove, a single big ego in four leather jackets. Hey ho, let’s go Ramones style. Walking out of the mosh pit to pick up their instruments for their set. You don’t hear music like this anymore, not outside a bar.
They’re not here to piss about. Mojo Alice know what they’re doing and they do it well.
It has the unapologetic balls of AC/DC, the darkness and soul of Robert Johnson, and the tightness of Led Zeppelin. It’s music to drink and raise hell to
Dust off your leather jacket. Put on your Doc Martins. Put on Liquid Sin. Rock out. Five out of five.
A free download of the first single Liquid Sin is available here.
Mojo Alice is an original four-member blues/rock band from Wellington. Formed in May 2016, they a guitar-based rock band with a heavy blue groove. Some of the band's influences include AC/DC, ZZ Top, Motorhead, Pantera, Warlock and Halestorm.
Individually very experienced and proficient musicians in their own right, collectively the band are a force of nature. Their following is growing quickly because of the consistently tight energetic live performances and engaging the audience with their infectious riffs, powerful vocals, and heavy grooves.
Brodie, the guitar wizard, defines our theme with the thunderous riffs and magic he performs on the guitar;