Moot – Cultural Treason

By RingMaster Review on October 9, 2020 • ( 1 )

Belligerent, in your face and dripping with despise for “the more crass elements of modern society”, Cultural Treason is the debut EP from Australian quartet Moot and quickly proving one irresistible garage punk protagonist.

Without any expectations of its survival as a band past “three songs of their first ever set” Moot stepped forward six years ago with the inspirations of the likes of The Stooges, MC5, Dead Kennedy’s, Radio Birdman and the sounds they loved fuelling their own raw invention. That presumption was never realised, the band’s aberrant noise finding a ready tide of ears and appetite which has only grown around them as their craft and music has blossomed. Following well-received singles, the Cultural Treason EP is a potent invitation to broader attention; a summons which given the chance is easy to see being eagerly taken up.

The release proves that the band’s sound embraces numerous punk and rock essences to its garage/old school punk instincts though EP opener I Hate Hippies revels in that core breeding of their music’s heart. The track entangles ears in juicy grooves initially before surrounding them in feral riffs and rhythmic trespass, the following vocals just as untamed and contagious in their incitement. There is something of bands such as Swell maps and Suburban Studs to the song but around a Moot individuality which flourishes hereon in.

The following 1000 Words similarly eyeballs the listener and social media alike, riffs coming in waves of temptation as bass groove seduce and flying beats bite. For just over a minute and a half the song snarls and harasses and for the same length of time had us greedily devouring before Sick Dog brought its manipulation to body and appetite with its Stooges coated prowl. From stalking riffs and sonic enterprise to throat scouring vocals and rhythmic engineering, the track burrowed under the skin with a body and voice unique to its predecessors but just as addictive,

Trump inspired Fake News is next, its sarcasm and belittling of its protagonist bound in unpredictable imagination and mischief and fuelled by another senses scathing punk jangle while Yummy Mummy builds its withering social observation upon a magnetic fusion of garage, punk and hard rock truculence; ferocity dripping from every note and syllable.

It is hard to choose a favourite track but Cultural Treason closes with a regular candidate for consideration, I Want To Be Like Clint Eastwood a compelling and broody slice of rock marrying humid spaghetti swarthiness with PiL nurtured punk rock, a Lydon-esque hue to the vocals only escalating the quick and invasive captivation. It is a superb end to a release which just burrowed deeper into the passions by the listen.

The foursome of John Walker, Ross Dreise, Shane Dalton, and Benjamin Copeland may have not expected to last more than a few moments into their venture but Moot have proved they are here to stay and with releases like Cultural Treason are surely destined to major attention.

Cultural Treason is out now via Riot Records; available @ https://goldenrobotrecords.com/riot-records/moot/