::The Moog :: Bender’s Tavern :: April 6 ::
By Alex Samuel
If you’re looking for an album to sandwich between The Hives and The (International) Noise Conspiracy at your next indie-rock dance party, or for another way to prove that you are, in fact, worldly, check out Budapest-born The Moog’s debut album Sold for Tomorrow.
Discovered by MuSick Recordings through their MySpace page, The Moog is the first Hungarian rock band to be signed by an American label. This disco-drum heavy, slide-guitar-centric mess of great hair and timeless rock sounds more like a California quintet than a Hungarian import.
“We are the first generation in Hungary who where able to watch MTV since we were kids,” said Moog lead singer and keyboardist Tonyo. “Maybe that’s why we are one of the first Hungarian bands who can be known internationally. Internet was a great help because we can stay up-to-date by watching online magazines and seeing new bands.”
MTV-saturated classmates Tonyo, Gergo (drums) and Adi (guitar) met up with Csabi (bass) at a bar and realized they all had a passion for the same type of music: American and English rock, a rarity in Hungary. Eventually, Miguel (guitar) joined the quartet and took the music to a new level. When MuSick Recordings signed The Moog, it opened endless opportunities.
“It’s great. It’s real strange at first. Great because we have much bigger opportunities,” said Tonyo. “If we had a Hungary label, we would suck. It’s great that we can see the world and meet many good people who we would never meet otherwise.”
According to Gergo and Tonyo, the Moog’s influences range from The Beatles and The Beach Boys, to The Kinks, Blondie, Blur and The Strokes, but not Hungarian music — and it shows.
The band’s debut album Sold for Tomorrow, which drips with steamy dance-worthy influences from here and across the pond, was recorded in Hungary and mixed in L.A. by Nirvana-producer Jack Endino. Sold for Tomorrow features songs like “I Like You,” that will stick in your head for days.
And while The Moog’s vintage cool sound comes from old-school influences, there is also credit due to the band members’ awareness of music today, and their desire to not be yet another cookie-cutter act churned out by the industry.
“I think it’s becoming too hip,” said Tonyo. “It’s fun to listen, but most of these bands are not original. They can’t find their own way. They just copy each other and it’s funny for me. They don’t have real songs. They just do this hip music.”
::The Moog ::
:: Bender’s Tavern :: April 6 ::
Spectate if you Gravitate:
• The Beatles
• The Strokes
• The Ramones