Album Review: Moggs Motel – Moggs Motel (Steamhammer / SPV)

Moggs Motel, the new band from UFO frontman Phil Mogg, will release their self-titled debut album on September 6th, 2024, via Steamhammer / SPV.

No-one could fault Phil Mogg for wanting to step away from the music scene following the end of UFO. After all, it has been one hell of an extensive career, and he has more than earned a rest. Which he did take, but retirement was not on the cards and thus, Moggs Motel was born.

Joined by Tony Newton (bass & keyboards), Neil Carter (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Joe Lazarus (drums) and Tommy Gentry (guitar), Moggs Motel is a rock band, and this self-titled album is a rock album. Which won’t come as too much of a surprise to most, but that certainly doesn’t mean we’re hearing re-runs of lesser UFO material. While there are familiar elements, after all this is Phil Mogg, this is not the same beast, and you can tell enjoyment came from having creative freedom.

Creative freedom to come up with twelve enjoyably varied efforts that sit comfortably in the rock genre, but also have enough experimental aspects to ensure an eyebrow or two is occasionally raised.

The talent in this band means it’s no surprise that so much of this album is enjoyable, and it’s fun to hear Mogg use his voice in different ways, especially as he still sounds fantastic. It helps that he is comfortably backed by musicians who know exciting riffs, know infectious beats, know strong melodies, know big harmonies, know thrilling solos and know rock and roll groove. Things rarely sound stale here, even if there is a strong old-school rock smell.

That’s what people want though. Moggs Motel was never likely to be a blackened thrash or gothic industrial doom release now, was it? Rock is promised, rock is delivered, and fans won’t go away disappointed. There’s nothing game-changing here, but there are a bountiful number of reasons to have a good time while listening to it.

Some of which come via tracks like Apple Pie, I Thought I Knew You, Tinker Tailor, Wrong House, and Storyville. Five strong examples of what Moggs Motel can deliver, as well as five examples of some of the more creative aspects of the band. The UFO door might be closed, and that’s a sad thing, but it does means Moggs Motel now exists and that’s well worth celebrating.

Moggs Motel – Moggs Motel Track Listing:

1. Apple Pie
2. Sunny Side Of Heaven
3. Face Of An Angel
4. I Thought I Knew You
5. Princess Bride
6. Other People’s Lives
7. Tinker Tailor
8. Weather
9. Harry’s Place
10. Wrong House
11. Shane
12. Storyville

Links

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