EP Review: Mosa Wild - 'Talking In Circles'
Enchanting quartet Mosa Wild have finally released new music, in the form of the incredible EP ‘Talking In Circles’.
Some bands can suffer from the often debilitating condition of fan-pleasing; an overbearing pressure to release new music so as to appease everyone waiting listlessly for new songs to wrap their heads in, auditory comfort blankets to get lost into. This, however, can sometimes lead into filler tunes, particularly when it comes to debut albums; songs that are great in their own right but can perhaps fade into obscurity when surrounded by the brilliance that preceded it.
Then there’s the other side of the coin, bands with the opposite problem. True perfectionists, who refuse to release anything until it’s at the true peak of its potential.
Enter Mosa Wild.
Having broken into the indie scene back in 2016, with the genuinely spellbinding single ‘Smoke’, Mosa Wild set themselves apart from other indie bands around. Between frontman Jim Rubaduka’s husky, haunting, vocals, the echoing, atmospheric backdrop of the simple yet intricate piano chords, strings and a slow drum beat, the brilliant harmonies in the the bridge... the song is something special, setting the screen for some phenomenal new music.
And then the band disappeared, for years. Fans worried that, much like the figure from ‘Smoke’, the four had ‘quit for good’. Because ‘Smoke’ came out, a monumental release, and then that was that on the release front, for years.
Then, a few months ago, they released ‘Night’, an addictively catchy tune. Still undeniably Mosa Wild to anyone who’s heard Smoke, but a stark contrast song-wise. Less a wispy, ethereal and thought-smothering track like ‘Smoke’ — one to fall into, a cloud of hazy, half remembered memories — and more an auditory hook; one that impales itself into your mind and refused to leave. In a good way. It’s upbeat, anthemic and scarily easily to play and have on repeat.
A matter of weeks later came ‘Tides’. It ebbs and flows, stretches into the distance and floats you away. A nice surprise, given the expected three year delay before a third track! It inhabits a middle ground of sorts, between the two that came before it, and ends up as an island between the calm oceans of ‘Smoke’ and the roaring storm of ‘Night’. It has much of the upbeat, poppy optimism that marks Night yet seems to possess at least some of the wistful melancholy of Smoke, and once again the band succeeded with a masterfully crafted and produced track.
All three have been included on the band’s recent ‘Talking In Circles’ EP, along with two new tracks, ‘Honey’ and ‘Faultline’. It's an EP about love and hate, hurt and loss, listlessness and passion, and everything in between, and from start to finish it exudes a polished sense of effortless class — even with the laddish chant-esque groan halfway through opener ‘Honey’, a song about dealing with emotions and the constant deliberation when it comes to love, or the electronic harmonies that dominate ‘Faultline’.
It’s a brilliant debut EP and it’s about time that it’s been released.
Words by James O’Sullivan
MOSA WILD LIVE DATES:
17th Aug - Flat Iron Square, London (John Kennedy X-posure Summer Party)
18th Sep - Omeara, London (headline show)
12th Nov - Concorde 2, Brighton ^
13th Nov - Waterfront, Norwich ^
15th Nov - Stylus, Leeds ^
16th Nov - Newcastle University, Newcastle ^
17th Nov - SWG3 (TV Studio), Glasgow ^
19th Nov - Limelight 2, Belfast ^
20th Nov - Dublin Academy Green Room, Dublin ^
21st Nov - 02 Ritz, Manchester
23rd Nov - O2 Institute 2, Birmingham
24th Nov - The Lemon Grove, Exeter ^
26th Nov - Trinity, Bristol ^
27th Nov - O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London ^
^ Supporting Jade Bird