Moving Units: Dangerous Dreams : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

When the original late-seventies New Wave spread east to west, Los Angeles produced a few leading bands such as X and a lot of crafty but unoriginal followers such as the Motels and Missing Persons. As heirs to those middle-alphabet bands, L.A.'s Moving Units join the Killers, the Stills and other current singles providers to comprise neo-New Wave's second string.

Their debut long-player proves that this humble position isn't without charm. Coming across as a well-studied combo of the Rapture, the Strokes and Interpol, the trio veers from coy disco rock ("Emancipation") to minimal art pop ("Unpersuaded") and pained post-punk ("Scars") while leaving behind a short string of hooks. Formerly of the hardcore band Festival of Dead Deer, Chris Hathwell isn't the first American to contrive an English accent, but he isn't particularly distinctive with it, and the album's flat production values eventually dull the rhythm section's choppy bite. The last thing Moving Units should be is static.