Album Notes

The Moss Brothers are 12-year-old guitarist, vocalist Reuben Moss and 15-year-old drummer Evan Moss. On their 2nd CD, Electricitation, the Moss Brothers are joined by
former- Metallica bassist Jason Newsted.

The Moss Brothers opened several shows for Newsted's group, EchoBrain. EchoBrain covered "A Promise Is A Promise" live in concert.

"Forget about all those boy bands and pop divas, Electricitation shows that the Moss Brothers are the true sound of young America - radical, reckless and rocking." Jersey Beat

"The Moss Brothers are one rock act you have to hear to believe." Billboard

"I was impressed with the skill of these kids. The MUSIC is OUTSTANDING!" EncyclopediaMetallica.com

"The Moss Brothers are kids you ought to take seriously. Seriously." Dallas Observer

"The Moss Brothers are the real deal." Oakland Tribune

"Reuben Moss is a little guy. In "Off the Charts," a track on the Moss Brothers' new CD Electricitation, he sings, "I weigh 62, I stand at four foot six / But I still play the guitar, and Evan plays his sticks." But on that same song, he plays such brawny grunge guitar-with little squeaks of surf-that it's easy to forget that Reuben Moss is twelve years old, and his brother Evan is fifteen.

It's hard to overlook the Moss Brothers, small as they may be. The Piedmont, CA lads dazzled their elders with their 1999 album On the North Side of the Tree, with some strong blues covers and rocking originals about football, grandpa, and having to clean their rooms. Since then they've had their hands full with school-and with breaking in Jason Newsted, late of some band called Metallica, on bass-but somehow managed to whip up another batch of songs about summer vacation, overcrowded Heaven, Satan on holiday, and watching TV until the brain rots. They'll unveil Electricitation Sunday afternoon at Ashkenaz in Berkeley, with Newsted in tow.

Listening to "Heaven Got Overpopulated," the first track, you're bobbing your head to the chugging guitar and tapping traps before you hear Reuben's juvenile pipes rattle off a list of departed heroes and you remember it's a kid tossing off those fiery solos. Newsted's sinister bass line, Reuben's pounding guitar, and Evan's crashing cymbals turn a song about a friend failing to help cheat on a test, "A Promise Is a Promise," into a scorching rocker. I wondered which local musician they'd charmed into providing the sawing violin on "Whiner," but it turns out that's Reuben, too. In "Frustration," Reuben gets a little creative with pronounciation to make the chorus scan better: "Don't get
frust-er-ate-ed-it's very, very pointless. Just remember that it's not the end of the world." East Bay Express