The Motet

The funk runs deep on the Motet’s fourth and latest album, Music For Life. Featuring the intense tight rhythmic layers that have come to symbolize the group’s sound,Music For Life successfully lays down one tasty groove after another. Formed in Boulder, Colorado on Halloween in 1998, the Motet has been making the rounds on the jamband circuit for quite some time now, gaining momentum with every live performance. While the band has proven its stripes in a live environment, they had yet to put it all together in the studio. With Music For Life, the Motet has created a solid studio effort that should help them attract an even larger audience as they pick up steam on their way to becoming one of the top bands on the scene.

The band is lead by Dave Watts, the extremely talented drummer who makes it clear on this record that it’s his show, as he takes home songwriting credits on six of the eight tracks. His best song, the lead track, “Cheap Shit,” sets the tone for what lays ahead; over an hour of straight-to-business, ass shakin’ funk. With its catchy horn melodies, deep bass lines, driving percussion, timely organ fills, and sticky guitar riffs, “Cheap Shit” signifies what this album is all about: Funk at all costs. Other standout tracks include the Latin infused “Power,” the Headhunter-esque “Black Hat,” and the final track, “Them On Us,” which features one of the few and one of the best guitar solos on the album by Mark Donovan. The guitarists main role on this outing is not to provide mind blowing crescendos and hours of noodling, but to fit in as just another role player to create a sound that is first rate any way you chock it up.

Unlike so many studio albums released by various jambands over the years, this one hits the mark as an excellent album that stands all by itself without the usual, “but you should see them live” comments. Even though there are no songs on Music For Life made for the radio (“Fearless” is the album’s shortest track at 6:12), and although success by jambands has never been measured by their studio albums - this one is well worth yours and your stereo’s air time. But, if you get a chance, you should see them live.