The Mooks
2 Become 1
Riot Nrrrd Records
Street: 12.28.11
The Mooks = The Steinways + The Ramones + House Boat
Before hearing it, I thought that the title track of this latest Mooks release might be a Spice Girls cover—these are SLC’s foremost purveyors of all things pop-punk and cuteness, after all—but that is not the case (though that probably would’ve been pretty cool, too). This “2 Become 1” is yet another great tale of nerdiness and heartbreak. References are made to X-Men, as our narrator compares his plight to Wolverine’s impossible desire for Jean Grey, then goes on to wish his princess was not in another castle, à la Super Mario Bros. My only gripe is that the song is too goddamn short—I know this is punk rock and everything, but I wanna hear more. The tape also features the excellently titled “Dan Quail (Not My President)” and a neat acoustic tune called “Summertime, Girl,” which features some cool, 8-bit-sounding synth and more lyrics about having crushes. There are also a couple of remixes of “2 Become 1,” which are silly, but don’t have a whole lot of staying power. And if you aren’t cool enough to own a cassette player, you can download a three-track digital version at mooksuck.bandcamp.com