Mock Orange

There's really nothing worse, when it comes to music, than being predictable and self-plagiarising. Since their inception, Indiana quartet Mock Orange have been constantly reinventing themselves and developing their sound. They've matured from derivative emo/indie rock practitioners to inventive punk-jam pioneers. While retaining the post-punk vibe that drove their earlier works, they have, under the watchful guidance of producer J. Robbins, turned into something quite unlike many of the bands they were first compared to (Fugazi, Braid). With the incorporation of dynamic acoustic and slide guitar parts, they sound like a bizarre amalgam of Dinosaur Jr. and the Grateful Dead. While the plugged-in electric tracks like "I Keep Saying So Long,” "Old Man" and album highlight "Do You Want Out" offer the closest thing to standard rock fare the band will allow, it's the gentle balladry of "East Side Song" and "I Can't Seem To Think" that are ironically the most powerful. Powerfully written and crafted with purpose, Mind Is Not Brain is one of the most pleasant surprises of the year.