Album Review: Closure In Moscow - 'Pink Lemonade'

2 May 2014 | 2:30 pm | Staff Writer
Originally Appeared In

Six years of actual progression has paid off.

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It has been quite awhile since Melbourne's Closure In Moscow released their jaw dropping debut full length 'First Temple', six years in fact. The band, having been quite active in that time, has clearly changed their musical tastes a little bit, pushing their experimental angles on follow up 'Pink Lemonade.'

...and, it's a good thing.

'First Temple' sat in amongst the post-hardcore wave that many Australian acts decided to ride at the time, poking its head out a little however, suggesting that CIM were something more. 'Pink Lemonade' is the evolution of 'First Temple's' quirk.

The record begins by inviting you into the garden from the front cover image at which point 'The Fool', who is a funky-ass mother, albeit quite a lonely and erratic one, will serve you up some 'Pink Lemonade', which is flavoured in such a way that it is not too sweet and not too sour. The measurements of beauty and groove are balanced evenly allowing for sporadic guitar noodling and fast paced beats that can switch to the fattest bass lines and body moving melodies the group has ever produced.

As the record continues it becomes clear that CIM are fast becoming Australia's answer to The Mars Volta, possibly with more psychedelics if 'Neoprene Byzantine' has anything to say about it. Things are never cemented however as they shift to 80's pop on 'Seeds Of Gold' or blues rock mixed with glam on 'That Brahmatron Song', the only constant is groove, man.

If there is a point where the quirky points of 'First Temple' and the new sound meet, it's 'The Church of the Technochrist', held in nostalgia by its vocals and propelled into the futuristic stratosphere by the music, this is a stand out thanks to the seamless combination of all CIM elements. The electro beat and strings of 'Beckon Fire' lead nicely into the album's closing numbers, some more blues style riffage in 'Happy Days', and the equivalent of the most tripped out video game anime experience you've ever had in audio form on ピク レモネード.

Hopefully Closure In Moscow fans are open-minded enough to embrace and enjoy the fairly drastic musical change the band has undergone over the past few years. Because if they are, they will find a significant amount of enjoyment in 'Pink Lemonade,' which is the most impressively unique record this country has seen in a long time.

1. The Fool

2. Pink Lemonade

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3. Neoprene Byzantine

4. Seeds of Gold

5. That Brahmatron Song

6. Dinosaur Boss Battle

7. Mauerbauertraurigkeit

8. The Church of the Technochrist

9. Beckon Fire

10. Happy Days

11. ピク レモネード