Moly started life in 2003 as a guitar-driven instrumental band, initially in the same vein as Mogwai. Despite receiving plaudits from some notable UK music magazines for their earlier releases, Moly decided a distinct change in musical direction was required and added keyboards and vocals to their line-up. The ‘space rock electronica’ label with which they now find themselves encumbered seems far more fitting to their newly transformed sound than the ‘post-rock’ tag of old. Sure, it’s not quite as extreme as Godspeed You! Black Emperor becoming a reggae act or Explosions In The Sky deciding that drum and bass is where it’s at, but you get the picture.

The electronica vibe is present right from the start of Hello Shut Up, as first track "There Goes The Sun" immediately launches into a shimmering, ambient haze, merging adroitly with second song ‘"Time On My Own." This marks the appearance of the male vocals – barely intelligible, shoegaze-style, yet fitting perfectly with the music. For some reason, this song strikes me as being somewhat akin to a superior, more highly-textured version of Groove Armada’s "At The River." Comparing these first couple of tracks to previous Moly works, it is not just the addition of keyboards and vocals that make such a difference to the music, it’s the absence of guitars. Okay, so they aren’t exactly absent, but you really have to concentrate to hear them, such is the extent to which they blend into the background, as compared to the previous "wall of sound" technique so frequently employed by the band.

The music continues in a similar vein for much of the album – vocals are intermittent, the odd track places more emphasis on guitars, but this ‘space rock electronica’ tag seems perfectly suited throughout. For me, the highlight of the album is undoubtedly final track "One Million Tears," which shows glimpses of the old-style Moly. At over 11 minutes in length, it’s almost twice as long as any other song on Hello Shut Up. Progressive layers of fuzzy guitar, keyboards and glockenspiel are laid down in a sublime, energy-filled piece, before fading out to nothing. At this point, the song effectively restarts (okay, so maybe they could have turned it into two songs, but this way is more fun!), with regimented drums and intertwining guitars reminiscent of – dare I say it? – Mogwai’s ‘My Father My King.’ Great stuff indeed.

At the start of this decade, Radiohead took a break from their indie roots and began dabbling in electronica, perhaps alienating fans of their earlier works but gaining a new supporter base in the process. However, I see no reason why Hello Shut Up shouldn’t appeal to Moly fans both old and new; there is just enough of the old-style Moly to keep existing fans happy, but their new style demonstrates a hitherto unseen depth to their work and they deserve to reach a far wider audience. Once upon a time, Moly might well have wished they were Mogwai, and they certainly wouldn’t have been the only ones; if subsequent Moly releases are as impressive as this one, however, the roles may very well be reversed.

- Richard White