RIYL: Plain White T’s, Of Monsters and Men, The Lumineers, Mumford and Sons
It seems like peace and love just wont die. Straight out of California (where else?) come The Mowgli’s, an eight piece outfit whose sound recalls the feel good vibes of recent breakout acts like The Lumineers and Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. Anchored by front man Colin Dieden, the group released their 14 song debut “Sound The Drum” in 2012 and an EP featuring slightly tweaked versions of those songs in early 2013. As luck would have it, ‘San Francisco’, the second track on “Sound the Drum” rocketed up the charts, peaking on the Billboard alternative chart at number 13 and leading to a deal with Island Def Jam and the just released “Waiting for the Dawn” LP.
Most of the material on the new LP can be found on their debut, and depending on your current worldview that may or may not be a good thing. There are some bright moments to be found on “Sound The Drum” but there are plenty of cringe-worthy ones as well and the album overall winds up feeling like a wash.
‘Hi Hey There Hello’ is a promising start to the set, building from a strummy duet into a rocking romp chock full of guitars, eclectic percussion, synths and vocal chanting. There’s howling, whooping, a plethora of la la la’s, and most likely some sort of metal beating on a kitchen sink around 2:04. There’s not much time to catch your breath before ‘San Francisco’ slides in with its addictive guitar hook, propulsive rhythm and arena-ready verses. “I lost my head in San Francisco/ Waiting for the fog to roll out”, the band chants, “But I found it in a rain cloud/…Do you feel the love?” Its pretty much guaranteed that you will.
‘Waiting for the Dawn’ is an efficient follow-up to this magical jingle, and ‘Slowly, Slowly’ has its merits, but the going gets rough after that. There’s not a lot of focus on tracks like ‘Gambler’s Hall’ or ‘I’ve Been Around’, the choruses start to bear uncanny resemblances to each other and the lyrics leave much to be desired. Hidden at the tail end of “Sound the Drum” is ‘We Are Free’, a beautifully brooding number that hints at the potential for greater depth in future releases by The Mowgli’s. Here’s hoping.
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For More Information Visit:
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http://www.themowglis.net
