Listeners were treated to a funky, and potentially party-starting, "Drinking For Love," which has less to do about external liquors than one might think.

Beautyrock Records sure do have a good thing going over in New York City with the characters they've got on hand. And after listening to the self-titled release from their constituents MOI?, a fuzzy feeling resonates with the promise of future beauty-rocking to come.

MOI? is fronted by the illustrious Royce Peterson, who I've had the good fortune of witnessing in the live act of beauty-rocking. On a hazy night in Madison, I felt myself intoxicated by his vocals. I was swayed by befuddlement, as well. Was I being seduced by some sort of square-jawed, hairy female?

That was at the High Noon Saloon, and I stood in the darkened corner of a venue too small for MOI?'s stage. They were singing something about an angel, and Royce's gold pants were glimmering as he leapt off stage, coming toward me.

Sudden sobriety: Royce is a dude and he's grabbing the hottest chick in the room and bringing her on stage.

The audience cheered as he serenaded the girl, who was decked out in a schoolgirl outfit that would put any porn star to shame, and informed her (via a well-sung and well-structured verse) that he would also make love to her.

The chutzpah is the most solid aspect of MOI?, and each band member can communicate it with just as much insight as Peterson. Whether the band's sounds are heard in venues, in cars or through headphones, they are sexually ineffable.

Peterson makes the band’s commitment to emotional complexity clear as he plays ambassador by introducing listening fans to the artistic project, saying: "I've known solitude and I've known severe overcrowding. But through it all I've wanted the same thing — affection. And by affection I mean physical affection. And by physical affection I mean, of course, sexual intercourse. With an angel."

This "Hello" kicks directly into the swinging riffs that solidify the tenderness of "This is All That I Wanted." From there, listeners were treated to a funky, and potentially party-starting, "Drinking For Love," which has less to do about external liquors than one might think.

The seduction almost happens too fast. We hear about Peterson's dangerously high hormone levels, and they immediately move into the pitch and the sway of "The Bitch and the Bull."

Check out moitheband.com for photos, MP3s and a copy of their self-titled release.

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