Could you point to Romania, Ukraine, Moldova or Hungary on a map? In all honesty, we’re not sure we can, which has left us with no reference points as to what Modiwo, who hail from these mysterious lands, was going to sound like. Oxana Gherghel is the focal point of the band, to the extent where this is a borderline solo effort.
Their latest track, Never Give Up, is euro pop in some obvious senses, but is somehow ageless – it’s a bit 80s in terms of production, a bit 90s in terms of pigeonholing them genre-wise, but overall it’s incredibly immediate stuff. We hit into the chorus early, a device which is, bizarrely, ignored by so many bands, even on singles. The trend for producing densely structured, pseudo-intellectual, ponderous 8 minute tracks is something which surely is ripe for blowing out for the water. Like the joyless films of Christopher Nolan, singles are getting released which are seemingly aimed at planting gloom in the ears of anyone within striking distance, so thank God for releases like this, which is just…well, jolly. It may not sell billions, it may not make them become your new favourite band but at least it’s fun, bright and behaves like a single should.