Sounds pretty in tune to me

Mojave 3’s album “Ask Me Tomorrow” was a great exercise in combining elements of dreaminess,the ethereal and tinges of country music. Mojave 3 had created a sound that embodied the melancholy feeling of a wide-open desert night. Their second album forged a sound similar in its dreaminess and tinges of country, sure, but it also finds a way to flip the vibe on its head, reminding the listener of waking up and driving down to the gulf at sunrise.

By 1998, Mojave 3 added two new members to their roster: Simon Rowe, a former member of Chapterhouse who added electric guitar, and Alan Forrester, who added organ and piano. Both new members greatly contributed to the Mojave 3 sound , helping to forge their style into arguably the most unique in their entire discography. The dreamy, country-tinged, almost sunshine pop-sounding Mojave 3 also sounds the most connected they have ever been. No decision on this album feels reluctantly added, and each song feels perfectly planned out by the band.

No song can explain what works best about their new direction than “Keep It All Hid.” The song’s main source of country influence is from its overall vibe rather than a specific piece of the song, like how “Ask Me Tomorrow” was. It retains the twang while also developing the new additions to the band. I’m personally a sucker for a good organ in a rock song (this is the Yo La Tengo fan in me speaking), but the organ here genuinely elevates the instrumental to a whole new level by supporting the guitar and drums in the background. The new additions also help the song feel fuller and take up more space. It creates a sort of sunshine-y sheen to the whole thing that pairs better with the songs here than it would’ve in any other part of their career.

“Keep It All Hid” also gains another level of depth if you look at it on a lyrical level as well. The lyrics describe someone noticing signs of their partner building resentment and holding their feelings in rather than communicating.

Lyrics like “You used to smile, Now you just stare at your knees, Sometimes, honey, I wish I was better company, And so do you,” paint a vivid picture of someone taking note of their partner hiding their real feelings about something, whether that be a situation or how this person made them feel. The lyrics perfectly contrast with the happier, almost upbeat-sounding instrumental, having that extra backdrop of everything seeming fine on the inside.

The rest of the album expresses this new direction in different ways. “Some Kinda Angel” and “Who Do You Love” uses that upbeat nature to its highest potential, while songs like “Give What You Take” slow the album down a little bit while still featuring great hooks. “Some Kinda Angel” specifically uses piano and organ as instruments in the foreground to keep momentum and features a slip-note style, which makes it a huge standout presence.

The throughline of being and sounding delicate isn’t lost on “Out of Tune,” either. “All Your Tears” recalls a semi-acoustic approach to their music, having just an acoustic guitar and a backing electric guitar before adding other elements through the song. While on the surface this song develops closer to the new, more upbeat direction in sound, “All Your Tears” maintains a sympathetic undertone to it.

Mojave 3 finds a way to morph this new sound they’ve taken on toward a sensitive direction here, changing from being delicate in a sad and fragile way to being the kind of delicate that helps those frail people and becoming that healing presence.

“Out of Tune” is possibly the most in tune to their sound they’ve been in their entire career. The addition of Rowe and Forrester permanently may seem like a recipe to make Mojave 3’s sound more bloated or too busy in theory, but their additions help the group create a unique sound identity. Not only did they make an album better than “Ask Me Tomorrow” here, but they also made possibly the best album of their career.