Short Reviews [Moron Police - 2019 - "A Boat on the Sea"]

Norwegian band MORON POLICE have been a part of the Norwegian music scene for a bit over a decade, with a reputation for being a strong and entertaining live band and mainly being described inside an indie and alternative metal context. "A Boat on the Sea" is their third and most recent studio production, and was released through fledgling label Might Jam Music Group in the late summer of 2019. While this is a band with something of a reputation in metal oriented circles, for this third album of theirs the band had apparently felt a need to develop in other directions. The marketing honed in on progressive rock as the specific category of choice for Moron Police this time around, with some key descriptions citing just what tendencies that applied within this context included. Perhaps as an aid to journalists and bloggers not quite knowing where to hold on to when trying to describe the music on this album. Even for more jaded writers like myself, giving a good and accurate description of this production is something of a challenge. But to kick off straight away: Most of the songs on this album revolves around material with a strong pop/rock sensibility to them. The verse and chorus parts tends to be catchy, vocals driven and easygoing, and relatively smooth affairs at a core level. Music easy to listen to, with compelling melody lines that doesn't demand a lot from the listener. The attentive listener will cats a lot of details swerving underneath though, and the arrangements here will at times contain a lot more than your ordinary mainstream pop/rock band. That this is a band fond of building majestic and sweeping sound tapestries as well also emphasize that these guys have crafted something that has a lot more going on than what you hear on the surface level. Time changes and alterations in pace, intensity and arrangements is a common denominator throughout this album, which is where the progressive rock aspect of the band kicks in big time. Moron Police are fond of including the occasional quirky instrument details too, which to my ears gave me an occasional vibe towards the likes of The Mars Volta. The band's penchant for majestic soundscapes may perhaps be described in a context where Muse is name-dropped, while the mainly more conventional verse parts and some chorus passages have a lot more of a mainstream rock vibe to them. That this is a band that will throw in electronic music details of the kind that will sound awfully familiar to just about anyone that owned an Amiga Computer or listened to computer game music in the 80's and 90's kind of fits into this totality too, especially as it is incorporated in a manner that makes it a good and natural fit. "A Boat on the Sea" is a high energy, joyful and jubilant combination of traits from several types of music, combined into songs that are easygoing and easy to listen to, but flavored with numerous details and nuances of the kind that will appeal to a progressive rock audience as well. While not directly comparable as such, I rather suspect that quite a few of those who enjoy the likes of Muse will find this album to be a most charming one. It will be interesting to see if the band also manages to reach a more mainstream audience on this occasion, as quite a few of the songs here should have a rather broad general appeal. ‘