Following in the footsteps of successful pop boppers with an alt-edge like The 1975 and All Time Low, we can’t deny Melbourne indie outfit MOBS their rightful place in our community. The ensemble released their debut album Cinema Paradiso last week, which acts as a Rosetta Stone of sorts, translating iconic films, including Cruel Intentions, Pretty in Pink and even Honey, I Shrunk the Kids into the parlance of music. Cinema Paradiso is a unique output, an interesting tapestry of pop culture intertwined with sound. To flesh out the stories within further, MOBS threw Blunt Magazine an album walk through, adding even more crunch to every bite of the album. Behold.
‘I’ll Be Back’
‘The Terminator’ was the inspiration behind our second single off the album. This is my favourite track off the album for incorporating a movie’s story into a song. While still remaining subtle enough that if you realise it’s about a movie you’ll get it, but if you don’t, it’s simply a love song. This is based on the character Kyle Reese coming back in time to protect Sarah Connor from the Terminator. It’s about loving someone despite the space, time or distance between you.
‘Find Another You‘
‘Find Another You’ is about the movie ‘She’s All That’. This was a fun sidestep from the theme of writing about movies as this was us creating our own story inside of the movie. Instead of being about a jerk turning a geeky girl into a popular girl, our song is about that jerk getting hurt and doing whatever he can to get over the fact that he’s vulnerable and just wants to be happy.
‘Big World‘
‘Big World’ is more of a stretch than the other songs when writing about a movie. It was based on the movie. ‘Honey I Shrunk The Kids’. We decided to base it on the subtle romance playing out in the movie, taking the idea of being small in a big world, overcoming life with someone by your side no matter the odds. It’s a fun, upbeat song screaming that we can do anything together.
‘School’s Out‘
This is a fast paced, upbeat, fun filled song about ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’. This track is trying to capture that romantic and nostalgic view of being in high school, with not a care in the world, and deciding that today, we are ditching class, being young and having fun!
‘Close To The Sun‘
This is one of the most joyous tracks on the album. It is based on the movie ‘Top Gun’. It is a fun attempt to write something tonally different from the others, while also writing a story that takes on a very different persona. In this song the protagonist is a cocky show off saying that he can do anything and that his ego is the star of the show.
‘Way Back‘
This is about ‘Back To The Future’. Another fast paced, upbeat song in the style of Hall and Oates. We tried to follow the story of the movie while also making it fit within the walls of its own story. It’s basically looking through our past and towards our future, saying everything will be all right.
‘Home‘
This track is inspired by the story of ‘E.T’. It is the most contemplative track on the album, that aims to be introspective and vulnerable. It’s about E.T. getting on his spaceship and leaving the protagonist. The protagonist is pleading to let them come with E.T. on his journey. The double meaning of the song comes across as not wanting to let go of a beautiful connection between two beings.
‘Cruel Intentions’
Is about the movie of the same name, ‘Cruel Intentions’. It’s a cheeky track featuring a guy with all the moves saying, “Hey I want you but not for a long time”. It’s trying to grasp that sultry nature that the film has and right at the end of the song, it turns it around with the protagonist saying – “I’ve met the right person and I’m over hurting people. I’ve lost my cruel intentions”.
‘Some Kind Of Wonderful’
Based on the movie of the same name, ‘Some Kind Of Wonderful’. This song is directly following the plot of the John Hughes movie. The protagonist doesn’t realise that the girl right in front of him, his best friend, is actually the girl of his dreams (the one he should be with). This song has a great dark 80s vibe to it which I think sits well with the moodiness of the lyrics.
‘Take It Slow‘
This is our ‘Go West’ style attempt of an 80s song based loosely on the movie ‘Pretty In Pink’. It’s about the protagonist showing the girl that he will do whatever or will be whoever she wants him to be. That he is willing to be that person for her. She’s hurting but he wants to be the one to stop the hurting.
‘Stand By You‘
‘Stand By You’ is written about the movie ‘Stand By Me’. The track is about remembering a time and place in your life when things were easier. It encapsulates the main goal of the entire album, a sense of complete nostalgia, a coming of age. It’s about not wanting to grow up and not wanting the safeness of childhood to disappear, but knowing you’ll always have those memories and your friends.
