Modern Motion
Big Mode
Self-Released

Link: Modern Motion

Modern Motion takes you back to the day where fashion was equally as important as the music that it presented. Glam rock at its core, angular post punk at the forefront, it’s a great compliment to a band like Rooms, but also something unique coming out of the Circle City.

Continuing a lineage that started from Bowie through Bauhaus and powered through the ages like the New York Dolls in the 21st Century, except suits and black ties on black shirts replacing high heels, Big Mode is lost in time.

Not as sassy as I would like out of the band, the songs are more soft-spoken. That sense of fear and mystery that comes out of honest rock songs. Don’t let the melancholy guitar strumming fool you, frontman Von Dozier gives proper posturing to a song like “Lovesick.” The vocals when he sings, “I’m lovesick” blurs through reality until the synths give us the proof that this is indeed real.

There is a mystery to this band, a mystery you do not want to know because that is part of the allure to this EP as much as the EP itself. It’s like the box. Sometimes, not knowing what is in the box is more exciting than knowing. It’s what we feel on “Roll With Me” and “Sara Says.” These songs build a fascination for the rock and roll that lies within. But even within that, the only way you can complete the puzzle is live. This is where the band really shines because the connection is there. Form and function, where the EP serves as simply function.

It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Recordings are naturally limiting. Could “On and On” be as explosive on a recording verses live? Possibly, but you don’t get the full experience. What you get out of this song is the contemplative prose, the soaring synths, and the steady tempos. It’s what this band is good at. There is a place for this band in Indianapolis. It’s a band we desperately need for this scene.

Modern Motion believes in the rock they produce, and they do a damn good job at convincing you. I have chills to think where things can go from here.