Half Awake

Album review

Moore's second solo album finds him taking less of a ghost of the Jesus & Mary Chain approach, though that doesn't mean it's any more particularly original. Knowing that within a few years he had switched over to Revolution 9 on the way to his eventual participation in Black Box Recorder, it's odd to hear his attempt at crisp and clean (1990-style) '60s garage rock rave-ups and classic rock experiments, his Jim Morrison-styled vocals on top of it all. At this point, Moore still clearly believed in a rock myth straight up but, unlike the likes of Ian Astbury, couldn't make the end results truly his own. Sometimes his extreme American-accented drawl verges on unintentional humor -- "Answered Prayer" fails where, say, James Johnston of Gallon Drunk would add some honest to God psychosis. His backing band, notably including Vincent Signorelli on drums, is capable enough, but generally speaking too much of the album is mired in cliché, as song titles like "Hard Luck Story," "Remember Me," and "Didn't Wanna Know" inadvertently demonstrate. Sometimes he suggests what Danzig was trying at the same time, fusing heavy metal and punk power with earlier roots and a dark croon (thus the strings on "Soul for Rent," for instance). "Mean Streak" is enjoyably energetic enough (and perhaps unsurprisingly one of the loosest things on the album), while covering "On Broadway" at the album's end is a striking if hammy choice. When he does bring it all together, though, he can be surprisingly powerful. "Perfect End," which actually surfaced as a separate single in the U.K. but was wisely added to the American release, is a monster and a half. Though a barely-hiding-it rip of "Paint It Black" by the Rolling Stones (right down to the chanting backing vocals), it has a surging energy that connects just perfectly for its three-minute length.

© Ned Raggett /TiVo