THE FREE PRESS • KINSTON, NC
cd reviews • February 2009
Jon Dawson
Midnight Matinée
Kinston.com

5 Stars Out Of 5

The Lost Patrol has been creating spooky, film-noir pop for quite a while, and its new album may be the crown jewel in the group's catalog.

If you've never heard the band's music, imagine if David Lynch directed "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly," and Ennio Morricone was the musical director for the film. To further the cinematic analogy, the band's music is featured in the new film "Plan 9 from Syracuse."

While the band's songs feature a full spectrum of sound, there is no massive band behind the music. Multi-instrumentalists Stephen Masucci and Michael Williams create beautiful, spacey music that serves as a launching pad for otherworldly vocalist Mollie Israel.

While MTV and FM airwaves are choking to death on the endless stream of Britney Spears wannabes, Israel's prowess and originality put her in a class with singers such as Shirley Manson, Adele and Regina Spektor. You've often heard that some singers could sing the phone book and make it sound good? Israel is that good.

The Lost Patrol has always created great albums, but with "Midnight Matinee" the group seems to have upped its game. One listen to "On the Run" or "Jukebox on the Moon" should have anyone with a pulse hooked on this band within seconds.

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