M.O.T.O.:
Kissing All the Wrong Asses: 7"
M.O.T.O.’s Paul Caporino has put in several lifetimes as a musician. By default, punk’s claimed him (which he seems ambivalent to, at best). Any way it’s sliced as music (not commerce), it’s a victory for both artist and audience. Huge, catchy guitar riffs—think Kinks, Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick, T Rex—but not as cock-and-balls wagging. More outsider. More weirdo. Not ironically. Not as a come-on. But as someone who’s unsure of how to act in society aside from making amazingly catchy songs that could become national anthems of disenfranchisement. I like how M.O.T.O. songs vibrate, like you’re hearing two things simultaneously, so it’s always a bit off and totally on. This EP’s as good as any in Paul’s extensive catalog. –Todd Taylor (Windian)