“Viking News” reviews Beast of Reflection
It’s always fun to see where our CD’s end up, whether it be the used bins at Amazon.com, or the “sound bytes” section of a college news paper. In this case on of our intrepid wandering CDs ended up at the Viking News, student news paper for Ocean County College. We love that the author, Kristina Mondo, had obviously done her research, reading through our bio and one-sheet (which is more than you can say for most reviewers), and that she takes some great chances. The introduction to her piece is marvelous…
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| The big picture is seeing what our life is ultimately destined to become. It is like a crystal ball that enables us to see into the future. Is the person looking back at us, the beast of reflection?
Morex Optimo ponders that question and much more on its debut album with Broken Hill Music. Morex Optimo is a Brooklyn-based art-rock band fusing rock, grunge and punk and producing a sound sure not to be heard anywhere else. |
Kudos to the author for finally grasping one thing no other writers seem to have understood:
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| Everything about Morex Optimo is unique, down to the name. Many meanings have been offered, from a 19th century medical instrument to a high-end cigar. However, the closest approximation is a distorted Latin phrase meaning “highest morals.†The band suggests that much like its music, each listener draws his or her own conclusions regarding the unusual name. |
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| Along with influences such as Kurt Weill, Spike Jones, Yo la Tengo, The Beach Boys and Tom Waits, this has enabled the band to fill its canvas with vast and vivid musical landscapes with many layers and textures. Morex Optimo has taken those influences and created intricate melodies, sharp and dissonant chords and tight vocal harmonies to create well crafted compositions. |
Unfortunately, the title of the piece says it all:
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| Morex Optimo has weird name, titles |
The longer we do this stuff of making music the more I have to conclude that the “creative set,” as well as the literati and intelligentsia are just as conformist, afraid of challenges, and averse to insight as the rest of the populace. Hate the album, love the album, I don’t care, but you all can do better than “weird,” no?
Finally, this will probably go down in history as one of our favorite quotes:
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| If you like political noise and know every Black Sabbath song, this is the band for you. |
Many thanks to Kristina Mondo for listening to us and for taking the time to write. And yes, we do mean that.
You can read the full review here.