mohs. — Mirage — Album Review
Alternative | Jazz
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There comes a time, at least once every musical year, where my craving for a new vibrant jazz record is met with one that fills each need. These empty slots have been filled by the likes of The Comet Is Coming and Blue Lab Beats in prior years, but in 2023, those boots seem to be filled by a band that I had only discovered upon the release of their brand new album.
The four piece known as mohs. have arrived with their sophomore studio album, titled Mirage. I knew absolutely nothing of mohs. upon stumbling across this record as a result of pure happenstance; even now, I still know very little about them. However, I feel that mohs. are one of those bands that have less need for an introduction into their aesthetic as a group, as mohs. are indeed one of those outfits that lets their music do all the talking.
As one might typically expect from a jazz album such as Mirage is primarily instrumental. And as someone who got into the music form through the more electronic and danceable styling of such a genre, Mirage felt like a bit of a breath of fresh air, in the sense that their brand of jazz was more ambient and soothing that what I had heard before.
On top of that, the choice of instrumentation was slightly different to what I had heard before. While saxophone has typically been the weapon of choice for the kind of jazz music I have listened to previously, mohs. instead ops for a cracking combination of trumpet and guitar. And while this combination is likely not entirely new to the jazz sphere, this melodic combination absolutely works in the bands favour.
Mirage wastes no time in getting listeners into its soundscape, with the soothing and intriguing tones of the album’s opening track “New Places”. As someone who’s very first introduction to this band was through my first listen of this brand new record, I was impressed to be able to pick up on the aesthetic of mohs. so swiftly, but I guess that is the power that a band can have if their chemistry is on point. And indeed, this is the case with mohs.
From the opening track onwards, I found myself being completely lost in the vast and vibrant atmosphere that Mirage brings to the table. Especially considering that my first full listen of the album happened to be during my first beach walk since moving into the city of Brighton, it was fair to say that big vibes were felt. And while this gorgeous atmosphere makes an album like Mirage one that is easy to enjoy, it is also quite a hard one to review.
Finishing the album felt like waking up from a very relaxing and warm dream, and this made me remember the album with all the more fondness, in truth. On top of that, I feel that an album like this one was release at the perfect time, as I have the whole summer to become all the more familiar, and all the more in love, with this colourfully brilliant record.
Favourite Tracks: Quartz | Oú es-tu? | Seth | L’Archiduchesse
BMM Records
