Hungarian quintet the Moog

Meet THE MOOG – Hungary’s most popular alternative rock band. Formed in Budapest in 2004 by then-teenagers Tonyo Szabo (vocals), Adi Bajor (guitar) and Gergo Dorozsmai (drums), and later joined by Csaba Szabo (bass) and Miguel Gyorgy (second guitar), they’ve been compared to such modern-day chart-toppers as The Strokes and The Hives; but The Moog’s influences run deep and wide: The Beatles, David Bowie, The Sonics, The Smiths, Nirvana, Ramones, Sonic Youth, Roxy Music and Bauhaus. These and other seminal bands come to mind upon hearing their two releases: 2007’s Sold for Tomorrow, and the upcoming Razzmatazz Orfeum. Yet, THE MOOG manages to infuse their music with their own personality and heritage, and the resulting sound is brightly original, fusing together elements of 60’s garage music, goth rock, punk, and pop. Under the influence of American and British rock, they write and sing in English but their sound is distinctively Eastern European, as heard in their immediate, contagious and haunting melodies. And despite Tonyo being The Moog’s primary songwriter, the other band members have stepped up their contributions here: Gergo penning “Lost Day,” and also collaborating with Tonyo on “Self and Soul.” Additionally, new guitarist, Miguel, contributes his surf-infused picking style and blends perfectly well with the more angular guitar playing of founding member Adi. The band’s debut album, Sold for Tomorrow was mixed by the legendary Nirvana producer Jack Endino, and it turned quite a few heads, thanks to the two indie underground hit singles and videos, “I Like You” and “Everybody Wants.” Both videos were heavily played on mtvU and even made the first-round nominations for the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. SPIN.com acclaimed, “The album boasts rough-around-the-edges garage pop tunes, and “Everybody Wants” is a catchy three-chord gem.” To record their sophomore release, Razzmatazz Orfeum, the group set up shop in Seattle—its climate and weather not unlike Budapest—and they worked with one of the Northwest’s most respected contemporary producers, Geoff Ott (Queens Of The Stone Age, Mark Lanegan, Pearl Jam, etc.). Razzmatazz Orfeum kicks off with the roaring “This Is Horror,” its fade-in intro delivered true to the band’s name with a swirling vintage Moog synthesizer, before leading into another off-kilter rocker, “Panic,” culminating in Tonyo vocalizing his best Cobain. Up next is the album’s first single: the wry, catchy dance/goth rocker, “You Raised A Vampire,” and the blood-letting doesn’t stop as then comes the album’s second projected single, the hook-heavy “When I See You.” The emotional pull of “Can’t Say No, Can’t Say Yes” brings to mind Ziggy-era Bowie and Syd-era Floyd; “Lost Day” possesses one of the album’s catchiest choruses, while “Joyclad Armies” shows that the band has unmistakable roots in ‘80s Euro dance-pop-rock. The album wraps up with five tracks that when played back to back show how diverse The Moog is: the mid-tempo “Sphinx” (with its tasty bass lines); the ultra-catchy early 60s/Spector-esque “Make Me Happy;” the synth centerpiece “Self and Soul,” featuring Tonyo’s surprising falsetto; the progressive goth rocker “Mina,” a tribute to Mina Harker and Bram Stoker’s ‘Dracula’, and ending with the piano-heavy and slow burning “Epilogue.” The record’s second single, When I See You, achieved the biggest success so far for The Moog. The video which was shot in LA’s Bob Baker puppet theater by legendary director AG Garth (White Stripes, Von Bondies, Adult) has been on regular show on MTV2’s Subterranean program as well as on the newly started MTV channel LOGO. Another great success for The Moog is that one of the standout tracks on the album, Joyclad Armies is a featured song in the latest game NBA2K10 alongside The Gossip, Metric, MGMT or Kanye West. The result is an album that stands way out from the overcrowded alt-rock pack—and the group continues to mature musically at an impressively rapid rate. The Moog will soon receive another huge boost Stateside, when they land on U.S. soil for their fourth American tour in spring of ’10.