The Art Of Kissing Properly

Stylus magazine hit the nail on the head last year when describing moi Caprice's third album The Art Of Kissing Properly as “soundtrack music”. It can literally turn a dull dreary walk into work into a cinematic experience, to transport you to another place. Jesus, if a song like "The Town & The City" can make Ipswich feel like Paris then it must be good huh? For those of you, like myself new to the dramatic synth pop of moi Caprice please allow myself to give you a quick recap of their career thus far. (with a little help from the internet).

Danish 4 piece band moi Caprice rose to underground fame in the late nineties when they entered the top slot on the Alternative Chart with the song The Sun & the Silence as the first unsigned band ever. A few years would pass before the band released their first actual single, Daisies, and despite it being a slightly awkward ballad, the song turned into a minor hit in Denmark, and with 7 consecutive weeks in the top slot of the Alternative Chart is was the biggest hit on the chart in 2002.

The band ended the year with a nomination for best new band of the year at the Danish Radio Awards. The next single, Artboy Meets Artgirl, proved moi Caprice one of the finest art rock bands in the country, and paved the way for their 2003 full-length debut, Once Upon a Time in the North, which was widely praised by the critics. After an extensive tour moi Caprice released their second album, You Cant Say No Forever, in early 2005. Again the reviews were amazing, some claiming it a true masterpiece. Both To the Lighthouse and My Girl You Blush turned into hits, on both the Alternative and the mainstream charts. In early 2006 moi Caprice was nominated for the grand prize of the Radio Awards. moi Caprice has been widely acknowledged for their skillful song writing, their apt ear for the pop tune in a dark melancholic musical setting, their highly intelligent lyrics in an original style that is in arguably the sound of no one but themselves.

All clued up now? Excellent. So the bands third full length was released last year on Glorious Records and for the first half at least is a pretty solid record. It mixes perfectly crafted love lorn lyrics with lush synths and breathy atmospherics with Phil Spector-esque drums thrown in for good measure. Think what the Pet Shop Boys would sound like if they spent a fortnight in Europe making beautiful music with Camera Obscura and you'd be headed in the right direction. It starts off strong with the title track followed by "The Town & The City" and "For Once In Your Life Try To Fight For Something You Believe In", the latter sounding somewhat like a distant relative to The Flaming Lips'' "Do You Realize?". It is an album, I've found, best played in small portions. After a while things to start to get a little samey, almost as if the band have put all their best ideas into the first four or five songs and then repeated the formula for the remainder of the record. When its good though, its absolutely breathtaking and certainly worthy of investigation.

The band are yet to confirm any UK dates as of yet but are heading over to Canada and the States next month for a quick tour, most notably for the SXSW festival. Dates are as follows:

8 March - Silver Dollar Room. Toronto
10 March - Canadian Music Week. Toronto
12 March - Union Hall. New York
13 March - Pianos. New York
15 March - Uncle Flirty's. Austin, Texas
16 March - SXSW. Austin, Texas
17 March - Tiswas, The Annex. New York



[MP3] moi Caprice - The Town & The City

For more info visit the bands myspace page @ www.myspace.com/moicaprice