The Morӧns Bust Into Pop-Punk Stratosphere with New Release The Book of Morӧn
4.9 out of 5 stars
The Morӧns have not been around in this particular band for very long, but their brand new album The Book of Morӧn is about a perfect punk album from start to finish.
The band formed in 2017 and call themselves the “Quintessential Party Punk Band.” Well, if that’s what they were going for before, now they can claim to be “One of the Best Goddamn Punk Bands of 2022” according to me.
Right from the opening of this album, you get the feeling that the album name is very apt for the entire theme here. “Congregation” is a poke at all the established religions (especially evangelicals) and the whole concept is a nod to The Book of Mormon (obviously) which is a skewering of religion in itself.
Now, the rest of the album doesn’t necessarily stick to just religion, but literally makes fun of or shines a light on all of society.
In the first song of the album (“I Wanna Be A Hesher”), the band sings about being a rock-loving burn out - assumedly based on the movie Hesher starring Joseph Gordon-Leavitt - and sticking it to society by not giving two shits.
The song rips in every goddamn way possible too. Fast paced, rad hook, pretty masterful guitar work, and great drumming. Oh, and frontman Robbie Morӧn is actually a good singer…not something most punk bands can tout.
I think my favorite song on the album might just be “Upgrade to Premium.” It is so cleverly on the nose about the state of technology and our daily lives where everything is “free” until you are invested in it, and then the game/app/technology/etc… makes you pay for something now that you are hooked on it.
“Open Bar” is a great party tune about getting lit at a "high class affair" just because there is free alcohol. Yeah, getting dressed up is annoying, but the booze makes it much better.
There are some more serious songs on the album as well. “Prairie Fire” is a sarcastic bit of self-reflection for the world who watches with eyes wide open as climate change scorches and melts the planet’s surface, and yet our governments handle it as if it is a minor issue.
I have said it before, and I will say it again…I am not a fan of cover albums, BUT a one-off cover song is usually okay on an album.
Well, these guys decided to take on the Queen of Pop herself, and make a punk cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance with Somebody” and IT. FUCKING. RIPS!
It’s not just a straight up cover at a fast pace. It has breakdowns and builds and all sorts of cool shit in it.
I was massively impressed by their effort and seamless musicianship when tackling a behemoth of a song like that.
Make a note of this, this is the best pop-princess punk cover since H2O covered Madonna’s “Like a Prayer” on their Go album in 2001.
“Ride Or Die” is the lead single off the album, and it is a pretty anthemic song about being there for your friends, and it reminds me conceptually of “Bro Hymn Tribute” by Pennywise. Of course, it doesn’t sound anything like that song, but the idea is very similar.
“On the Pil” had me actually chuckling, because I feel like it was written about me personally (NOTE: it wasn’t). The song is all about how instead of acting cool and drinking fancy microbrews, it is just cheaper and easier to drink a pilsner (I usually stick with light lagers, but, honestly, I don’t even know the difference).
As a dude in his 40’s (and even before), I totally agree that it is pretty annoying to try to pretend to care about how good beer is or isn’t every time I want to have a night out. It’s refreshing to just go out and drink a cheap beer without having to care about ABV’s and “hints and notes.”
“Cable” is probably the funniest song on the album, in my opinion. In a modern world where things are expensive and wages are low, it is not so far-fetched to stick out a bad relationship just for the simple fact that your girlfriend has cable TV.
The line that cracked me up most was probably, “She likes to spit on me, I like to watch Community.”
Another great song, especially for Canadians who all likely grew up playing hockey, is “Old Timers” which is all about how as a youngster the protagonist (possibly based on Robbie’s real life) was a great hockey player but got sidetracked by partying and burned out. Now as an adult, he dominates the recreational league very easily.
“Crash and Burn” finishes the album off, and this is a bit more of a serious song again. The guitars on this song are absolutely ripping all the way through as well.
I am not sure I have been this surprised by a punk album in a long time, but this is definitely one of my favorites. This is a can’t miss album if you are a punk fan, in my opinion.