Moonfish have graced these pages before. They didn’t have that name back then of course, but they’ve been here none the less. In their last incarnation, they weren’t a band at all. The musicians hid behind a singer known simply as Susannah. Now, in an apparent re-balance of power, the guitarist, bassist and drummer have moved forward into the limelight. The Moonfish has landed. More where that came from Back in my review the single by the artistes formally known as Susannah’s single ("Everybody’s Mad" and "I Hope it Rains"), I bemoaned the fact that two songs were not enough.
"No sooner have you settled into it," I whinged, "than the CD has ended and you are left with the choice of skipping back to the beginning ad finitum or moving onto the next batch of reviews." Now, of course, my dream has come true. And what a dream it is. The Moonfish EP features five tracks: "Feel it Now", "Everybody’s Mad" (on the last CD but worth more than another listen), "Cheap Champagne", "High Heeled Shoes" and "Too Good". I’m in the Mood for Dancing All five tracks are funky, feisty numbers that will make you want to get up and dance - a lot. They vary in tone from bad girl having a good time ("Baby come around, let me show you what you’re missing" in "Everybody’s Mad") to good girl having a very bad time. ("I’m not going to play that game," she snarls in "Cheap Champagne"). This is girl power as the Spice Girls could never have imagined it. There’s not a "zig-ah-zag-ah" in sight.
Instead, what we have is a collection of anthems that you could imagine crowds singing along with in an arena, all sung by a woman with one of the raunchiest voices the world has ever heard. Crowd Pleaser "I’ve got no money in my pocket/but I’ve high heeled shows/ still got my dreams/hope I still got you" Susannah sings in "High Heeled Shoes". It’s a lighter-waver of a song. And as I don’t smoke, I’m going to have to go out and get a lighter specially for the occasion. Elsewhere "Feel it Now" is soul/disco number in the spirit of The Zombies’ "She’s Not There" or maybe The Weathergirls’ "It’s Raining Men" along with more than a hint of "Fame", while "Too Good" starts with the jazziest vocal introduction you could imagine. Under the Influence It’s easy to see where the band’s influences come from, Susannah cites Alannis Morrisette, Nina Simone and, much to my delight, Ben Folds Five as inspirations, while most of the rest of the band mention Aerosmith, Pink Floyd and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers with alarming regularity. However, it would be a sign of complete laziness, not to mention inaccuracy, to suggest that Moonfish are just an amalgam of the above. Moonfish sound most of all like Moonfish, a funky, rocky, jazzy group with guts and flair. "We are not a known band in the area as yet", Susannah explains in a letter that accompanies the CD. Hopefully that will change soon. Given the quality of the tracks on this EP, Moonfish deserve all the praise they can get. CD Reviews If you have a gig you would like to promote or you are in a band and would like your CD reviewed then get in touch at gloucestershire@bbc.co.uk or send a demo to:
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