Indiepop Spinzone, Pennsylvania, USA, May 2004, review of Ike Moriz's debut album ' Mirrors And Shade' (2004)

Indiepop Spinzone, Pennsylvania, USA, May 2004, review of Ike Moriz's debut album ' Mirrors And Shade' (2004)

Hip-ometer Rating ~ 9.4

Ike Moriz - "Mirrors & Shade" Ike, if you didn't know, 

could best be described as South Africa's answer to David Bowie and this is his debut LP. At first I thought he committed a faux pas by putting all the songs from his first 2 EP's on this album. Because who will buy them when they can get everything here? However, by and large they are all mixed differently and not just the music, as the vocal tracks are redone as well. That essentially makes them all new versions, so it's interesting for people who were aware and it still leaves reason to get the original ep's if you like it. This was particularly clear on the track Fall Into The Sun which I always liked, but I think I prefer this new version even more. That pretty much is the feeling for most of the re-recorded stuff here. It was all good to begin with, and doing it over didn't hurt as it often does. At worst the songs are different, but at least as good if not usually better. The tracks new to this outing tend to be more on the lighter side, perhaps because the other stuff was very "single" oriented to begin with. Songs like Still or Fake Fatale are really nice adult styled ballads and fit with the rest very well. About the only critique is there is a degree of style variety on the album, which does prevent it from having a common theme or thread that ties it all together. I think this is because Ike has true talent, but he needs to find his footing. He's still teething as it were, but at that it's some fairly delicious bites. He's like Bowie without the glam meets Oasis without the self importance teamed with UK chart "alternative" without the boredom. Certainly worth checking out, that's for sure! sound clip video - Still

Label ~ Mosquito, 11 Tracks, 2004