Moose
High Ball Me!

I haven't heard any news about Moose since I discovered them with this album in 2000, and for the record, I had never heard about them before either. So, I can say with absolute certainty that I know almost nothing about them. I can only suggest, with a grain of salt, that this might be their last musical effort and the fourth chronologically.
I came across them somewhat by chance in the French magazine “Magic” in July-August 2000, where they had the honor of being awarded the title of album of the month, leaving at least a couple of excellent debuts from that period in the dust, in other words, the best Coldplay received so far and the remarkable debut of Badly Drawn Boy. Not just anyone!
My astonishment was immense, and the curiosity to delve deeper was inevitable. And it was love at first sight, pardon me, at first listen.

You could mention the Pale Fountains, the Boo Radleys, Belle and Sebastian, Mercury Rev, or perhaps to touch the shoegazer lands, My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive, although they don't have the dissonances of the latter.
Many other indie pop-rock groups could be mentioned, but Moose doesn't sound like anyone else. It's true.
Moose only sound like themselves, or at least that's how I like to imagine them. The timelessness of their songs makes them original and hard to place in any time-space context. It's an album from 2000, but it could just as easily be from twenty or thirty years ago, or it might even be released tomorrow.
Every time “A Starting Point” starts, paired with that pop gem “Can’t Get Enough Of You”, it always feels like the first time. And what is more beautiful than the first time?

Every single track, upon closer listening, reveals meticulous facets that we hadn't managed to grasp before. The theatricality and the imposing construction of the tracks literally glue you to your seat. It's high-level guitar-pop. But where did these guys come from? Who are they?
Only “Magic” included them in their year-end playlist.
Are they talent scouts, or is everyone else right?