Mojave 3 takes a rustic angle

Mojave 3 takes a rustic angle in “Spoon and Rafter”

As long as I've been a fan of Mojave 3, I've noticed that most discussion about the band ends after their third album “Excuses for Travellers.” While I somewhat understand why, Mojave 3 does have some criminally underrated work past “Excuses for Travellers.” A lot of it comes from their fourth album “Spoon and Rafter” that came out three years later.

“Spoon and Rafter” is very unique from its predecessors. Once again, the band found a way to develop their sound , most prominently through adding ambient elements and more domestic soundscapes. The album feels like a relaxed day on the farm when the temperature and mood are just perfect.

Delicacy flows throughout this album. The difference here, though, is that it primarily feels like a peaceful and accepting delicacy while also including elements of the brand of sadness “Ask Me Tomorrow” or “Excuses for Travellers” exudes.

You can’t talk about the updated aesthetic and musical elements of “Spoon and Rafter” without “Bluebird of Happiness.” The nine-minute beginning of the album has all the band’s new aesthetic and musical choices on full display. The song feels like a cloudless, calm day and a breath of fresh air after a long day at the same time, whether that’s the way the vocals are sung or the way the band includes the ambient elements of the last half of the track.

The song hides a silent depression in its lyrics, though, with vocalist Neil Halstead echoing “Never wanted to feel this pain, Never wanted to feel so sad,” in the song’s chorus throughout a majority of the song up front and hidden among the instrumental.

“Bluebird of Happiness” sets the tone for the majority of the forthcoming album, with a lot of songs having their own strengths in this new space Mojave 3 forged for themselves.

“Writing to St. Peter” is the song I come back to the most here, with its ambient inclusions being the best on the album. The band has these small, almost bursting, ambient notes and small guitar lines to accompany them throughout the song. You’d think on paper that these wouldn’t work together, or that they would feel formless overall, but they add greatly to the song’s benefit by setting up an almost lullaby-like atmosphere. Halstead sings this song with Goswell, who adds a softer touch to whichever song she sings, and she does exactly that. The song overall almost feels like a hush as a result, like noticing small details in the dark when looking around.

“Hard to Miss You” follows the footsteps of “Writing to St. Peter” in a different way. Instead of the ambient and guitar additions, “Hard to Miss You” feels a lot more concrete in its presentation through the piano. The addition of glockenspiel in this song (and, by effect, the rest of the album) makes it feel a lot more delicate.

The album has its share of great rock-leaning tracks as well. “Starlite #1” is a great indie rock song that’s great to play when driving through one of those 35 MPH roads in the countryside. It just has that countryside vibe to it, even if the instruments used aren’t usually in songs with its rustic atmosphere. I assure you the glockenspiel and theremin here actually help the song, not hurt it.

Overall, “Spoon and Rafter” shows yet again how Mojave 3 can reinvent their sound and still feel like themselves. While, yes, the album’s more domestic atmosphere and instrumental additions make it seem like they’re making a lot of changes on paper; their strong sound identity comes through and makes this a very singular Mojave 3 experience.