Jackson Free Press

When Budapest's The Moog (yes, that's in Hungary) started to play music, they had no idea that they were about to set off on a journey that would eventually whisk them far across the seas, release them into a whirlwind of rock and roll and land them on America's doorstep as the first Hungarian rock band signed to an American label.

The Moog came together out of the friendship of Tonyo (vocals, keyboard), Gergo (drums, percussion) and Adi (guitar), classmates who spent their formative years jamming together in their free time playing Nirvana, Led Zeppelin and Placebo covers and writing their own material. In 2004, they decided to get serious about their band and almost immediately afterward met Csabi (bass) at a bar. They all came to the realization that his musical tastes were so closely aligned with theirs (a rarity at the time in Hungary ) that he was destined to join the band. Csabi did not, in fact, know how to play the bass, but was so passionate about the music the band was working on that he quickly learned. Miguel (guitar), well known in the Hungarian music scene for his guitar playing, was offered the last spot in the band and jumped at the opportunity. The Moog found a common love for music and good hair in one another. The rest, as they say, is history.

Sold For Tomorrow, the band's debut album, will undoubtedly inspire bedroom rock out dance parties across the nation. The CD is packed full of immediately catchy pop songs inspired by sixties rock 'n' roll bands (The Beatles, Beach Boys), late seventies punk (Ramones, Blondie), and an assorted variety of right now (Blur, Libertines). Sold For Tomorrow was recorded in Hungary at Tom-Tom Studios, mixed by Jack Endino (Nirvana, Hot Hot Heat, Soundgarden) at Electrokitty in Seattle and mastered in LA with Dave Schultz (Pretenders, Otis Redding). Lyrically, the record takes the listener on a ride through the ups, downs and new beginnings we all experience day to day but the upbeat melodies never allow for any melancholy. This is an album full of those feel good summer songs we wait for all year. Opening track "Your Sweet Neck" sticks in your head like bubble gum sticks to your shoe. The sorrowful libretto weaves tales of unrequited love, while the effervescent guitars turn an otherwise sad tale into one of new beginnings. The first single, "I Like You," is a captivating, hook filled declaration of love, the lyrics of which are sure to be scrawled across notebooks and tucked away into lockers across the country come April. "Anyone" takes the album down a notch with a touch of tongue-in-cheek cabaret and slow dancing, while the closing track, "Xanax Youth," is so full of rambunctious guitar and intense percussion it will lead you straight into sensory explosion.

Sold For Tomorrow gets to the core of The Moog. A little bit experimental, a little bit indie rock, a little bit pop – all good!