Battle Lines / Bob Moses

Bob Moses

he band Bob Moses sounds remarkably like Coldplay on Battle Lines, from the soaring vocal melodies to the stately piano chords to the overall air of slightly apologetic celebration. Most of all, though, Bob Moses sound like Coldplay because singer Tom Howie sounds like Chris Martin. The resemblance is there in Howie’s hushed vocal tone, his tendency to reach for the falsetto and only just arrive, and the way he stretches out his words like a politely howling coyote, so that “insanity” becomes “insanity-y-y,” the last syllable tugged along by vast slabs of singalong phrasing. Coldplay’s role as perpetual media whipping boy might make the comparison sound like an insult, but it’s not meant to be. Especially on their first two albums, Coldplay had a fantastic gift for melody that soundtracked more autumnal breakups than many people these days might care to admit, and Bob Moses share some of this melodic nous. At their best, the Vancouver band’s tunes are like seeds in the desert: imperishable hooks that lie dormant for months only to flower at the first sign of heartbreak. Album opener “Heaven Only Knows” has the same boisterous stadium melancholy that Chris Martin and co. might use to slay a boggy Glastonbury Festival, while “Listen to Me” is a wonderful earworm mix of fragility and defiance. ~ Pitchfork

Price: $23.98