Bringing together members of B-Movie Rats, LaDonnas and Rum Bar Records’ signings The Hi-End, The Mochines are a no nonsense garage rock band featuring some of the genre’s old hands. Following a few years away, their 2023 release ‘Modern Information’ finds this group of friends sounding particularly energised, and on its best cuts, sounding even sharper than ever before.

The brilliant ‘Post Pop Crash Depression’ wastes no time in dropping the listener squarely into The Mochines’ world of retro noise. A speed driven riff combines the very best elements of sharp edged garage rock with a pinch of UK punk anger, and by combining that with a high octane lead guitar calling through the rhythmic edges, the track instantly becomes the ultimate in knock-about fun. …And that’s before taking a fierce lead guitar break and a very busy bassline into consideration. In fact, the track’s sharp bass part could even be the number’s finest element, since William Graves III keeps everything fluid throughout. His busy style constantly lifts the rough and ready guitar riffs and provides a strong melodic counterpoint to a very scratchy vocal, ensuring that, although the Mochines sound could never be called slick, it often feels well balanced. In terms of album openers, this is guaranteed to make fans of the style prick up their ears, since The Mochines reintroduce themselves in a manner that sometimes sounds like a tighter, rockier take on ‘Hootenanny’ era Replacements colliding with a supercharged Johnny Thunders. Make no mistake – it’s great…and the rest of the album certainly isn’t too shabby, either.

Opting for something a touch more melodic, ‘Avalanche Kid’ pushes Curt Florczak’s vocal to the fore, and his very natural style is well suited to the number’s chopping riff. In terms of production values, there’s a genuine effort here to showcase some very live sounding guitars throughout, and Ross Kersten’s rhythm has a huge presence. Never enough to detract from the melody elsewhere, of course, and the chorus in particular has a pleasingly repetitive quality that really works. In the main, this meat ‘n’ potatoes style garage rock isn’t flashy, but it doesn’t need to be; the track is a solid showcase for the band that gives each member equal space within a no-frills arrangement, and the same could be said for the title cut, which features drummer Sean Antillon hammering the snare, leading the band into an opening groove that has hints of early Kinks, before sliding into something more of a US-based garage rock persuasion. For the bulk of this number, the band latch onto a riff that exudes classic garage rock with a full compliment of stabbed rhythms and chopping guitar sounds. The music may be very much of the tried and tested variety, but a strong dual vocal and a great bassline (courtesy of Hans Molner) ensures that anything familiar still feels relatively exciting.

One of the album’s stand out cuts, ‘Ran Out of Luck’ combines the energies of Dictators with the hook laden drive of The Real Kids, but serves up the familiar sounds with a typical Mochines crunch. The track has a massive guitar sound which comes through in unstoppable waves, whether working a hard rhythm, or sharing a careening lead break, but there’s so much more great stuff driving these three minutes. The lead vocal is raw, but manages to share that almost perfect proto-punk anger, and the bass playing has a muscular quality that really gives this track a very welcome live feel. It’s one of those tracks that, once you’ve heard the shout-along chorus a few times, has all the qualities of a genre classic. Equally good, the crashy ‘Miss My Baby’ – featuring a rather upfront rhythm from drummer Rick Garcia – fuses a very 70s sounding guitar riff with a sneering vocal that pulls the heart of a classic CBGB’s gig from yesteryear into the twenty first century. As with a lot of other Mochines tracks, it works well thanks to a simple hook and absolutely rollocking lead guitar sound, but the way the main riff rises and falls in a manner that sounds as if the band are teasing with a punk ‘n’ roll groove is equally wonderful. Delving deeper into a broad melody, the main riff from the pop-edged ‘California’ sounds like a throwback to The Runaways at times, but a pair of ravaged voices ensure the slightly brighter sounding arrangement is still more than recognisable as The Mochines in full flight. Here, a really simple chorus hook seems set to sell the track, but a couple of plays show that Florczek’s loose lead guitar break and Molner’s hard edged bass could rival that for the number’s best feature.

In addition to those self penned tunes, the album features three covers. This is perhaps one too many, but given how well The Mochines handle the material, that can be forgiven. A cult classic from the late 70s, ‘Catch Me’ by The Jetz is given a fairly traditional send off, but if anything, The Mochines’ injection of volume gives the track a kick. It goes from being a tight, punky power pop jam akin to The Real Kids to being a full scale rocker where Curt’s guitar shares a broader sound, and with the main riff bolstered by the same kind of bass presence as heard on ‘Post Pop Crash Depression’, this version comes with some serious muscle. The vocals aren’t as appealing, but that’s a minor point given that the arrangement is so impressive, and any flaws are much easier to overlook once Florczak and Kersten let rip with the rock ‘n’ roll leads.

‘This Is Rock ‘n’ Roll’ – originally by overlooked power poppers The Kids – also benefits from a better sounding recording, but also a better vocal. The original cut’s low budget yelp is transformed into a raw punk ‘n’ roll sneer, with Kersten sounding great placed when against his own speed driven rhythm guitar work. There’s nothing flashy about the track, it’s purely about the adrenaline that comes when the energies of old school punk mix with the tight rhythms of power pop, but if you fancy hearing something that sounds like the missing link between Watts, The Real Kids and an amped up Dr. Feelgood, this cover should tick all of the right boxes. A similar amount of love has been foisted upon The Saints’ ‘Private Affair’ which stokes up the sharp edges of the rhythm guitar work, showing how well The Mochines handle something much closer to straight up old style punk. As always, though, beneath the gruff surface, you’ll find some smart playing, and the rock ‘n’ roll bassline is particularly well suited to Molnar’s tight style.

Despite being recorded at different times with two completely different rhythm sections, this is a really consistent release. On the whole, ‘Modern Information’ attacks with a ferocity of an act keen to make a mark, even though these veteran musicians technically have nothing to prove. They’ve been hammering out riffs and grooves separately and together for so long, that retro sounding garage based rock ‘n’ roll is part of their DNA. Nevertheless, this is a really impressive return, and whether you’re already a fan or approaching the band for the first time, it’s the kind of elpee that will thrill on each successive spin. Yeah, it’s a little rough in places, but that’s half the charm…

February 2024