Moloko - Catalogue (CD)

All Music Guide

Released three years after their final album, Statues, a Moloko bestof was long overdue. Fortunately, the straightforwardly named Catalogue delivers an impeccably edited collection of the duo's eclectic, aheadofthecurve music, gathering their biggest hits and key album tracks. Gorgeous romanticism, dropdead style, and a funky sense of humor not to mention Roisin Murphy's charismatic vocals and Mark Brydon's forwardthinking production skills were the key ingredients in Moloko's freewheeling mix of dance, pop, and rock, all of which are on display throughout Catalogue and especially on its first five tracks, which are, not coincidentally, the duo's most popular singles. "Fun for Me" and "Pure Pleasure Seeker" are quintessential examples of Moloko's sexy, mischievous take on dance anthems; "The Time Is Now" and "Familiar Feeling" are searchingbutglamorous ballads; and of course, the pair's breakthrough single "Sing It Back" is as alluring as it is inventive. Unlike some bestofs, which h...ave to stretch to fill out an album's worth of tracks, Catalogue is a welcome reminder of how strong Moloko's overall body of work is. From Do You Like My Tight Sweater?'s "Day for Night" and "Where Is the What If the What Is in Why?" to the title track of Statues, each song on the collection holds up. Catalogue's only flaw if it can be called that is that it doesn't include many of the flights of fancy that made Moloko's albums so distinctive. The closest the collection gets to the duo's deeply kooky side is the cryptic but irresistible shuffle of "Indigo" and the playful pop of "The Flipside." This is a minor drawback though Catalogue is a great Moloko primer, and any newcomers charmed by the songs here have even more to discover on the fulllength albums. - Heather Phares, All Music Guide Read more Less