Moose Blood’s 2016 record “Blush,” has 10 one-word song titles, some of which sound like color-swatch names from a twisted clothing catalog: “Pastel,” “Honey,” “Sulk,” “Sway.” There’s a pink theme to the new record, its second full-length.
The band plays a kind of compressed, muscular pop-punk-ish, shoegaze-tinged emo. Only one of the songs on the new record clocks in at longer than four minutes. Earlier this spring, the English band booted their drummer after allegations of sexual harassment surfaced online. So the the recent challenge of making a sophomore album under a tight schedule might be dwarfed by the challenge of getting a new drummer. Moose Blood knows how to deploy those brief, one-beat or one-bar bits of silence or quiet, letting the rhythm section drop out before kicking into an explosive chorus, letting a concussive snare roll and beefy bass sound snap listeners to attention. The band’s gotten to play in Australia and China recently, staying very busy.
Moose Blood performs at at the Ballroom at the Outer Space, 295 Treadwell St., Hamden, Sunday, July 30, at 8 p.m. Tickets are $18 to $21. 203-288-6400, thespacect.com.
