''Moody Motorcycle'' is the only studio album by Canadian indie rock duo

Human Highway ''Human Highway'' is a 1982 American comedy film starring and co-directed by Neil Young in his film and directional debut under his pseudonym Bernard Shakey. Dean Stockwell co-directed the film and acted along with Russ Tamblyn, Dennis Hopper, ...

. It was released on August 19, 2008 through

Secret City Records Secret City Records is a Canadian independent record label based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The music label was founded in 2006 by Andrew Rose and Justin West, originally as sublabel of Justin Time Records. It became fully independent in late ...

in Canada and

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in the United States.

Critical reception

''Moody Motorcycle'' was met with generally favorable reviews from

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. At

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, which assigns a

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rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an

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score of 71, based on nine reviews. Andrew Winistorfer of ''Prefix'' magazine praised the album, calling it "a deft reappropriation and re-imagining of the harmonic pop of

the Everly Brothers The Everly Brothers were an American rock duo, known for steel-string acoustic guitar playing and close-harmony singing. Consisting of Isaac Donald "Don" Everly and Phillip "Phil" Everly, the duo combined elements of rock and roll, country, ...

Simon and Garfunkel Simon & Garfunkel were an American folk rock duo comprising the singer-songwriter Paul Simon and the singer Art Garfunkel. They were one of the best-selling music acts of the 1960s. Their most famous recordings include three US number-one sing ...

, and

Crosby, Stills, and Nash Crosby, Stills & Nash (CSN) was a folk rock supergroup comprising the American singer-songwriters David Crosby and Stephen Stills and the English-American singer-songwriter Graham Nash. When joined by the Canadian singer-songwriter Neil Young ...

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's Bruce Eder wrote: "what is plainer throughout is that someone has finally delivered a follow-up to

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' ''

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'' album, dwelling on moments and sensibilities that slip past most of us in the normal course of a day". Matthew Fiander of ''

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, ...

'' declared: "it is nice to hear a pop record like ''Moody Motorcycle'', not just to wind down the summer, but to combat some other

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

trends". Josh Constine of ''

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

'' stated: "while enduring a few accidents, the group's fresh folk approach shows promise". In mixed reviews, Tim Perlich of ''

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'' wrote: "it's just the sort of gently strummed, sweetly harmonized and vaguely familiar-sounding pop music replete with quirky lyrical turns that is designed to make indie-rock-obsessed music hacks swoon. And they will". Wilson McBee of ''

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'' stated: "''Moody Motorcycle'' is easily Thorburn's least ambitious effort, evidenced by the inclusion of song sketches like 'Ode to Abner' and tracks that seem like outtakes from his

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work (for example, the title cut and 'Pretty Hair'), and yet in its many moments of off-the-cuff beauty the album proves, perhaps even more than the meticulously executed "Arm's Way", the extraordinary talents of this oft-misunderstood Canadian". Jessica Suarez of ''

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'' noted: "the title track gusts in more forcefully, but on the duo's best songs, they harmonize like Simon & Garfunkel shutting their eyes against approaching shades of winter". Tyler Grisham of ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

'' concluded: "Human Highway work best in this inviting, flickering-campfire headspace, and for an amiable if ephemeral 40 minutes, ''Moody Motorcycle'' offers a pleasant soundtrack to the dwindling days of the summer".

Track listing

Personnel

*Nicholas " Nick Diamonds" Thorburn – lyrics (tracks: 1–11), performer *James Edward " Jim" Guthrie – lyrics (tracks: 1, 2, 4, 6, 11), performer, producer, recording, mixing *Patrice Agbokou – bass (track 7) *Art Mullin – mixing *Jeff "Fedge" Elliott – mastering *Sasha Barr – art direction *Jaime Hogge – photography, layout

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2008 debut albums Secret City Records albums Human Highway (band) albums Suicide Squeeze Records albums