Statues

Moloko’s fourth and final studio album was a glossy, disco-infused electro-pop-funk affair, packed with drama and their trademark musical experimentation, characterised by a full, rich, varied and often semi-avant-garde audio palette, mixing cutting-edge electronics and organic instrumentation. 

The gradually unfurling seven minutes of album opener “Familiar Feeling” is like “The Time Is Now” Pt. II: romantic, string-laden chanteuse lost-disco that feels as though there must be some kind of dramatic back story to its chords and melody. And throughout the album Brydon and Murphy wield drama with ease, manipulating emotion through musical theatre, imbuing gloriously full, extravagant songs like dark-disco-anthem “Forever More” with bittersweet romance and yearning. The oboe, harp and orchestrated strings on sweet soul stepper “The Only Ones” could have appeared on Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly soundtrack and the melody is as exquisite and lilting as the sweet soul backing deserves.  

Still full of invention and innovation but perhaps a little less out there than previous albums, Statues was a suitably high-quality, creative and romantic end to Moloko’s career.