It's my fault I haven't heard of Moto. As a band if you've been putting out records on various labels for the last thirty years and I haven't come across your stuff before, especially in the punk/garage genre...well I haven't been looking in the right places. No excuse.
M.o.t.o. or Masters of the Obvious, have been consistently fronted by Paul Caporino, the man holding that guitar on the sleeve about to beat you over the head. I like to think that 7" singles are inherently great because no one putting them out is in it for the money. I think that also goes for anyone whose been working this long and hard at their craft. He's made it pretty clear he's going to write and perform out of the love - well maybe that's the wrong word - the need to rock. You have to respect that kind of determination and endurance, I can even overlook his opinion on CD's. Countless bands will be gone after a year and Moto is still going to be putting out singles like this.
"Shitty Kids" is a massive power punk sound that's reminding me of the hyper clear crunch of Bob Mould on Copper Blue. Big distortions that are smooth and expansive about an old man pissed about kids drinking with him. I get it, you go to enough shows and enough things change and that's it man. The past was way better and you shitty kids will never understand, I actually can completely understand this sentiment. You know what else they don't understand? How they're going to feel the same way someday. I like the idea of punk getting annoyed at millennial culture, saying fuck it to THEM instead of the man. Enough already with the Facebook. On "I Think of You and Die" I can't get away from Paul's vocal having that Husker Du sense of melody. It's rough and even as catchy as this, put together at the same time together in a giant room. It's not like it's tracked separately and then scrubbed clean, this punk pop is crammed into every corner of the groove.
B-Side's "Guitars Are Like Clothes" has that nice acoustic start of later Bob, and with a single record they've covered the range of Husker's sound. Bands feel nakesd without guitars and they take this one step further not relying on the fast distortions to get that point across either. This is a slower, modest number that rolls along with an almost jangle and they contradict Paul wanting to brain me with his axe singing in his Hunx style that slowly makes it's way towards the exit. But then again who saw "Don't Want to Know if You Are Lonely" coming on Candy Apple Grey. Bluesy and sentimental? Whon knew they had it in 'em.
Get this from Secret Mission Records on black vinyl looking like a reissue of something on Almost Ready.
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