by "susanmorton" Northern CA USA Reviewed on July 5th, 2000
Ever had a CD melodically romp through your mind in the middle of the night corrupting your dreams and awakening you? MOCK HEROIC is just that kind of CD. A person can't easily shake off the melodies or lyrics, even after the first playthrough. Its wry "life stories" and thought-provoking imagery tweak the emotions; like a chill running down your spine ("The Unlucky Ones", "No.1 Fan"), a love-mismatch digging into your wrist ("Another Day", "Better Than Nothing at All", "Half a World Away", "Such a Saint") or the knot of self-doubt plaintively catching in your throat ("Veteran's Day", "When I Hit the Brakes", "One Solitary Life")...the tracks skillfully rendered with enough winking self-mockery, uniquely-Admiral Twin vocal styling, and ear-pleasing pop-inflected hooks and rhythms to thwart descent into self-pity, sap or mediocrity. The equally memorable but more upbeat "Aeroplane", cinematic Lennonesque "Blessed Imperial" and curiously bi-polar "Eustice and Isadore" pleasurably counter jaded cynicism with the vocal heroes being smitten by love, the cosmos and magical territory just beyond one's own door. Likely comparisans to R.E.M., the Beatles, Fountains of Wayne, the Gas Giants, The Posies, Stroke9 can be expected, because the smart lyrics deftly ROCK with complex varying tempos, fresh takes on what is musically familiar, and the confident punctuation of three layered guitars and waggish percussion. Yes, the four talented men of Admiral Twin will toy with your mind. But you won't at all miss the shut-eye.
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