The Cold Cut

For every generation or progression of music there is a band who are unmoving, who inexplicably never get the popularity and commercial acclaim they deserve. For my father's generation he would be quick to tell you it was G.E.N.E, and in Moke I have unfortunately found the most recent representation of this principle. It's a really sad thing, because after listening to their two critically acclaimed albums (Superdrag and Carnival), its obvious that they deserved to make it big. Follow this link to Amazon and you will see that both albums received stunning reviews across the board, but things were obviously not meant to be for this London based four piece. Even worse, they might just be erased from musical history altogether due to a new Dutch band of the same name who I guarantee will be big within a year or two.

So- the music industry's a hard one... you only have a short time to find bands like these ones before they disappear: but why should this happen at all? There was no obvious fault in Moke (other than their name- not particularly special) as a band: they were all competent musicians, wrote great music and gave amazing live performances; this was the same with Gene (who will have their own full length post soon enough). So what about them repelled the CD buying public? Decide for yourself- there are a few tracks by both bands below; but the main lesson from this is if you like a band, support them by buying their music. Otherwise, they might not be around for much longer...

Moke- Comb Your Mind
Moke- Face To Face
Moke- Take It Out On Me
Gene- Fighting Fit
Gene- As Good As It Gets
Gene- For The Dead (Live- John Peel Sessions)

You can buy Moke's albums here, and Gene's here
And just as a passing thought, the new Moke: