releases

“mOck”

LP + download (Coraille / I Love To Hate Records) 2012
CD edition (Friend Of Mine Records, Japan) 2014

[get vinyl / digital via bandcamp]


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
tracks:

01. time and motion
02. kepler
03. [.]
04. 57
05. an hour from now
06. [..]
07. corners
08. [...]
09. montreux
10. [....]
11. the symmetry
12. mind is a pit of...
13. [.....]
14. vs. comodo
15. it came from the desert
16. [......]

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
rec: Robert Hauspurg

mix: John McEntire

mastering: Carl Saff

artwork: Felix Zimmermann + mOck

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

reviews:

jerseybeat.com

Striving to appease a more sophisticated audience, Mock is a struggle at times for a simpleton like me. However, a record like this is not to be overanalyzed and dissected, but should rather be taken in as part of one extended sitting. Mock's self-tilted record is an eclectic, intricate mass of fascinating musicianship sprawled across a cinematic forty-five minutes. The songs arrive and hover gracefully with the instrumentals, all titled as a series of numerical ordered dots, representing the band's most pristine moments. For a band with its roots in hardcore, the nature of the work is astounding-the record has the fragility of porcelain yet much of Mock's playing simmers with the embers of post-punk energy. Just beneath the surface on "57" is a low rumble ready to explode. The song does not ultimately do so, but the tension created is a momentous achievement. Granted, some of the guitar noodling does become a bit repetitive, but Mock is fiercely committed to formulating music located miles away from the safety of the expected. The ingenuity on "Montreux", "Corners", and "Mind is a Pit of..." is unapologetically complex, with labyrinthian time sequences and convoluted structures. Mock is not an easy listen; this requires total focus and attention to detail; it is the musical equivalent of a highly demanding class-the work is challenging, and there are times when one wants to give up, but once completed, one is a better student and person. Mock speaks to the unconventional and this one will exhaust the listener, but give it a shot.

[http://www.jerseybeat.com/quinlan-chronicles.html]





berlinbeat.org

It’s a musical fact of life that there are some bands that are simply better live than they come across on their recordings, and vice versa. Yet Berlin’s mOck, a post-rock trio whose membership includes bassist and vocalist Frederik Knop, drummer Conrad Rodenberg, and guitarist Felix Zimmermann, is one of the bands that defies this otherwise universal truth.
Of course, this only recently became clear with the March 30 release of the band’s first full-length. Although mOck played its first show more than three years ago, and has released a handful of splits in that time, the album serves as the premiere cohesive glimpse at the group for anyone who hasn’t yet had the privilege of seeing mOck live.

And considering the way in which the album was recorded – live – it makes perfect sense that the recorded sound directly corresponds to that live experience, placing mOck squarely among the ranks of bands that somehow manage to be consistently consistent. This debut, unsurprisingly self-titled, boasts 16 tracks, of which six are more interludes than anything else, clocking in at no longer than a minute-and-a-half each. The remaining 10 form a solid albeit poetically conflicting impression in the mind of the listener of what the mOck sound is: angular yet chaotic, aimless yet precise, sonorous yet precious.

From the moment the first track begins, Zimmermann’s guitar playing establishes itself as that which most prominently drives this music forward, with theme and variation-style riffs simultaneously proclaiming and ensconcing the band’s trademark sound. Rodenberg’s percussive stylings are hardly vanguardist, but the frantic embellishments and deliberate breaks throughout the songs create an edge of anticipation, with frequent polyrhythmic moments bringing juxtaposition to the forefront. And Knop’s bass playing underlies it all, subtlety providing the music with a backbone, sometimes echoing the pattern of the guitar, and other times jutting up against its grain. But it’s his vocals – effortlessly meandering in and out, under and above, the sound – which provide the melodic basis for many of these songs.

And it’s there, in the melding of these elements, that one discovers mOck for what it is. The fundamentals of a jam band are there, yet mOck is clearly anything but. Still, on successive listens to the songs, it’s easy to form a picture of how the interlocking textures in the music were somehow both accidentally yet deliberately pieced together. Not only that, but the stylistic influences in the mOck sound are overwhelmingly clear. Even songs like “An Hour from Now,” “Montreux,” or “Mind is a Pit of…” with their mid-point breakdowns (at 2:23, 3:48, and 2:23, respectively) are designed so that the listener knows what to expect but is still surprised when it arrives. This is math rock, after all, and mOck wants to let you in on the answer, but you have to do the calculations on your own.

All in all, there is a held-back sense of urgency permeating this album; it’s the kind that makes you excited, although you don’t quite know what about. It’s a labyrinth of tonality, with something slight, yet disparate, hiding around every corner. It’s a late summer afternoon, half-drunk, inadvertently lost in a looping, elaborate daydream.

[http://berlinbeat.org/2012/05/25/mock-mock/]





collective zine

This band has come out of nowhere for me. I had not heard anything about them prior to this release although they have released a demo and put out a couple of songs on split 7inches. mOck are a 3-piece from Berlin and they have sent in their debut LP complete with nice cover photo with some clever use of mirrors. They play some kind of mathy, indie, slightly jazzy post something-or-other with a strong 90s Midwestmo influence. A vague description indeed. Joan Of Arc appear to be a big influence. They set their stall out from the off with a twiddly guitar riff kicking things off and changing pace and time signatures in the opening track, “Time and Motion”. These reoccur throughout the record but not at the expense of the songs. The vocals slot into the music nicely. The singer has quite a smooth, gentle voice - it's quite understated at times. I am reminded of Polaris in the intricate guitar work and frequent hammers on and off. The janglier bits really ring out. It also gets quite driven at times when they pick the pace up. There are 6 instrumentals interspersed between some of the tracks on the album. The sound is a bit more jazzmo and distorted on these tracks, sounding experimental at times as they play even more so with the time signatures. Those instrumentals are a bit of an oddity at times but intersperse some very good songs. I love the way that “57" threatens to fly off the handle as the vocals strain but keep it in check throughout - a stunning track. “vs. comodo” is another standout - a fast intro picks up the pace and the song develops with long build-ups, twists-and-turns and great vocals. They don’t hit the heights on every track here but this is a most accomplished debut album and very much worth checking out.

[http://www.collective-zine.co.uk/reviews/?id=8446] 





intro

Songs wie Bruchrechenaufgaben. Krumme Zählertakte dividieren halbe Zählzeiten. Der größte gemeinsame Nenner der Songs dieses tollen Debüts ist der englischsprachige Gesang der alten Notwist-Schule.
Das Berliner Trio aus Bass, Gitarre, Schlagzeug macht diese Gesangslinien erfreulich oft zum Zentrum seines Mathrock, der dadurch eine schöne Dimension von Entspanntheit erreicht. Die Songs von mOck wirken, trotz Stolperrhythmik, schlüssiger als die vieler Kollegen, die sich ebenfalls für Tortoise und frühe Sinnbus-Bands begeistern. Der Sound des Albums könnte dabei trockener kaum sein. Nicht einmal ein Fitzelchen Hall scheint im Studio verwendet worden zu sein. »Rau« ist trotzdem das falsche Attribut für mOck, dafür geht das Trio viel zu verspielt zu Werke. Angenehme klangliche Abwechslung bieten die sechs instrumentalen Mini-Tracks des Albums, die mit netten Störgeräuschen und Rückwärts-Gitarren-Spuren für schräge Auflockerung sorgen.
Ein kantiges Debüt, das nach großer Spielfreude klingt und die zwangsläufigen Klischees des Genres galant umschifft. In drei Worten: Spielfreude / Mathrock / Stolperrhythmik

[http://www.intro.de/platten/kritiken/23067617/mock-mock]





Ox Fanzine # 101

Habe ich schon mehrfach erwähnt, dass die Jungs vom Label Coraille einen erlesenen Musikgeschmack haben? Nein? Dann tu ich das jetzt. Zusätzlich weiß man bei jeder neuen Veröffentlichung zumindest schon in groben Zügen, was einen erwartet: verschachtelten, frickeligen, intelligenten Indierock.

MOCK aus Berlin bilden da keine Ausnahme. Auf seinem Debütalbum vereint das Trio DC-Sound und Ähnlichkeiten mit Bands wie Q AND NOT U, DIANOGAH oder den Labelmates CARETTA CARETTA. Wenn man die Musik beschreiben möchte, dann handelt es sich um Songs, die auf wundersame Weise Entspannung mit einem aufgeregten Kribbeln versehen, ohne dass das ein Widerspruch ist. Die Rhythmen sind komplex, die Gitarren legen unaufgeregte, schräge Akkorde darüber oder wuseln sich zusammen mit dem Bass durch das, was das Schlagzeug an Raum lässt. Das ist alles andere als Musik zum Zurücklehnen, sondern eher zum Mitdenken. Dafür steckt sie voller Überraschungen und kompositorischen Wendungen, über die man am besten bei Zigarre und Whisky gepflegt sinniert und diskutiert. Ein schönes Debüt.

[http://www.ox-fanzine.de/web/rev/80333/reviews.207.html]





oliverarditi.com

Mathy rhythmic groupings and feel changes don’t get in the way of mOck’s involving textures and harmonies, but serve to drag the listener in, intriguing the ear and inviting a deciphering of their original and seemingly complete language. This is an album that asks you enter its world. Complex, textural arrangements are built up from crisp electric guitar, sharp, trebly bass and tight drumming, recorded with great clarity and separation. The creative approach is one that foregrounds performance values, with very little in the way of studio wizardry, or even obvious signal processing, although everything here is EQed and compressed to crystalline perfection; so although the music is forward looking, and devoid of technical grandstanding, it evinces an old school respect for the business of composing and articulating musical ideas. The detailed content of each song eschews stock phrases or any remotely generic approach to the organisation of musical materials, employing a sophisticated set of rhythmic transformations, and the precision with which the band nails these compositions is far more impressive than an unnecessary outbreak of guitar complications would have been. mOck is an album of uncompromising creativity and rigorous artistic integrity, but it’s also a very listenable and appealing slab of contemporary rock music.

[http://oliverarditi.com/2012/04/13/album-roundup-006/]





402 Productions

Frederik Knop, Conrad Rodenberg, and Felix Zimmermann; the three men who together make up mOck, create an utterly refreshing and precisely focused brand of post-rock. If a scientist were to create this band in a laboratory, he/she would extract a pinch of bleak tonality from Slint along with their accurate musicianship. Stirring in some infrequent time signature changes and a knack for dry, systematic lyrics will yield this group.
This album operates like a well-oiled machine. Ten textbook post-rock numbers become interspersed with six short helpings of roughly recorded instrumental tape tracks to comprise mOck. Songs seem to move from one to another seamlessly, mostly in part to the aforementioned interludes that prevent more than two legitimate studio songs to be played subsequently. It’s a small but thoughtful touch given to this record that separates it from conventionality, as you are not used to well-paced “interruption” between songs like this; as a result, it harbors great flow. Just imagine The Who Sell Out, but instead of fake commercials inserted randomly at the ends of tracks, they were replaced with dissonant, spacey grooves.
Another perfectly fitting attribute to this band is their execution and choice of vocals. Knop, the bassist and singer, is probably only heard for about thirty percent of this LP. When he does choose to sing, he lists off very repetitive and scientific lyrics. Romance is out the door. “All you are is controlled/drink the wine/spill the wine,” Frederik drones concernedly and languidly towards the end of “Montreux”. Every verse sung on mOck sounds as if it had been written by the robot character from Radiohead‘s “Fitter Happier,” and fits snugly whenever it rears its head.

There is a slight downside to being so dour throughout an album that clocks in at about thirteen minutes shy of an hour. Listening from start to finish won’t present an obvious rift, but by suggestion, it would have been really nice to see a song or two in the major key. This isn’t to say that every song dwells in a zone of morbidity, but even tunes that teeter on the line of slight glee are bogged down emotionally by an air of mystery, like “Time And Motion” and “57″. The inclusion of a feel-good track would have bumped this release up from being incredibly good to flawless.

mOck are an excellent find. They are mandatory ear candy for those who are fans of Slint and Pinback. mOck is one of those good, old-fashioned awesomely impressive debut works. It balances math and post-rock superbly and has that sheen, fresh, new car smell. For a year that has been pretty barren as far as noteworthy music is involved, these guys have proved otherwise, which is why they have earned a nomination for album of the year.

[http://402productions.com/reviews/2012/04/album-reviews-mock-mock/]





Built on a Weak Spot

Up until this point Berlin’s mOck has only had brief appearances on some split 7-inches, which is where I initially heard them. In particular their track on the split they did with the now defunct Rapid Cities. At the time it didn’t seem clear as to what the and were attempting with a five minute sprawling song that jumped between a more standard type of post-hardcore and the smooth jazzy influenced math-rock that they seemed to turn on at the press of a button. Confusing? A bit. Interesting? Somewhat. Thankfully they have this debut full-length to kind of clear things up and allow me to dig into them a bit more.
It’s obvious from the first listen of this LP that the track I heard on that aforementioned split wasn’t necessarily the best representation of the band. Likely an attempt to get the most out of a full side of a split. Can’t really blame them for that. This record, being handled by Coraille overseas and I Love to Hate Records here in the states, is a much more refined and focused attempt at what I believe this band ultimately is trying to capture. It’s apparent from just taking a look at the associations that mOck have as to just what that is. Having toured with the likes of Joan of Arc and even going so far as to do a split with Victor Villareal. Then you take a look as to who mixed the record and it happens to be John McEntire of Tortoise & Sea and Cake. That right there gives a pretty fair picture as to what mOck are kind of about. A nice melding of sounds that drift along in an ultra pleasant way, to the point where you hardly even notice the interjections of the equally smooth and dulcet vocals. It’s a familiar sound, but one that kind of edges itself away from the mathy and overly feel good twinkle of many many current and insufferable “emo” revivalists. And more power to them for doing so, as mOck seem to lock down a sound that is equal parts throw back indie-rock as it is some of the 90’s heyday of post-rock before it became the bombastic mess that it is now. The interludes between some of the actual songs are a nice touch on here as well, breaking up the crystal clear clarity with some snippets that sound more like practice space outtakes and some random noodling. Good record from these guys, and probably a bit more than I was actually expecting.

[http://builtonaweakspot.com/post/23123539523/mock-mock-lp]





Durchdes Welt

Lange hat es gedauert bis das Debüt der Berliner Indi Kombo im Kasten war und in diesem Jahr erscheinen konnte. Ihr leicht verschobener jazzige Indirock gespickt mit Easy Listening Feeling erweist sich auf der Debüt Full Lenght leider als kleine Mogelpackung Von den 16 enthaltenden der Band Karate nicht unähnlichen Songs, sind sechs von ihnen nicht mehr als experimentelle instrumentale Zwischenspieler. Zwei weitere Tracks waren schon auf der -Back to the Future- CDR zu hören. Dennoch bieten mOck erneut einen spannenden, gefühlsbetonten, rockigen und chilligen Sound zugleich. -Musik fürs anspruchsvollerer Publikum, welches sich gerne abends mit guter Musik gemütlich machen will. Das Coverartwork ist ebenso ausgeklügelt wie ihr Sound und anbei gibt es einen mp3 Download Code.

[http://www.durchdeswelt.de/2012/08/15/irgendwie-unter-gegangenpt-2/]