Mojohand has been one of my favorite first listens of 2020. A very young, well-versed, cosmic Americana jam band of sorts, without a studio album released yet either, they’re one of the bands I’m most looking forward to over the coming years. I don’t know where exactly the name is from, but I do know there’s a line in Grateful Dead’s song, “Ramble On Rose”, that goes “…just like Jack the Ripper, just like mojo hand…”, and I also know of the blues album Mojo Hand (1962) by blues artist Lightnin’ Hopkins, but it shows me they seem to be showing their influences right away, and I love that. Even if I’m wrong about where the band name originated, it’s just a cool name.
The band has 5 singles and a live album out right now. Only one single and their live album was released in 2019. Honestly I found out about these guys via Instagram, where I heard a preview of their song “Sweet Cactus Flower”, and was blown away. And the thing is, they’re getting better and better with each release as well. They’re singles all feature some cool cosmic cowboy type art as well, which makes me want to listen to them even more – thanks to @nickwpotts on Instagram – very cool designs!
With that being said, time to dive on in. All of their songs feature this soundscape that is simply awesome to hear, like you’re getting sung to from space as the music fills up the world. It starts out like a great old school country rock blues-inflected sounding tune, and then brings in some great acoustic work as it slows the pace a bit. Wow, that chorus is awesome. The electric guitar tone is so great as well, just the right fuzz to give it that grit you’re looking for. The piano/organ peppers the playing just right. They do very well with playing off one another – and then the cowboy type solo comes on with the electric guitar and wows you out of this world. The addition and stripping away of instruments is really well done in the song. Sometimes it’s hard to hear certain instruments, but when you find them and they’re doing some gentle jamming along in the background, all you can think “is this is awesome”. The song does so well at building up to the chorus to break through to some great playing by all members. The bass and the percussion meld together like honey and wine, each complementing the other well. The drums have a really infectious energy to them, that can really make the song sound huge. The bass is so smooth, when I focus on just the bass playing I feel like the band starts playing circles around me – very much a good experience. It’s awesome to know there are people making music like this in 2020. Honestly these guys have shown up to make a name for themselves, simply by making great music and continually evolving. This song sounds like they’re acclimating to recording these songs in the studio.
I’m not sure what song is my favorite among them. I thought “Fool’s Gold” was an incredible tune, but this one is so excellent too. These guys have shown so much growth since I started following them a few months back. This has sort of evolved from my writing on their song “Wild One” to being almost an appreciation post for the band. Truly a unique sound they’ve cultivated with Americana, country, rock and roll, blues, and jam band roots, all with a cosmic twist, I’m quite excited to hear more and write about them again in the (hopefully near) future.
-A
P.S. I typically use Apple Music for all of my music streaming purposes, but I found their influences playlist on Spotify and found out about James Matthew VII because of them and their playlist, another spectacular up and coming artist. To add, you can definitely hear how some of their influences play very well into their music. Thanks guys!