Mojave 3 are vocalist/guitarist Neil Halstead, bassist/vocalist Rachel Goswell, guitarist Simon Rowe, keyboard player Alan Forrester and drummer Ian McCutcheon.
The band broke cover in 1995, when a six-track demo impressed 4AD sufficiently to offer them a deal, despite a then-prevailing musical climate of bumptious Britpop that seemed totally at odds with what Mojave 3 were doing. Reasonably, however, it was felt that not sounding enough like Shed Seven was no reason to turn them away. Nor was it considered a problem that Halstead, Goswell and McCutcheon had form as members of definitive Thames Valley shoegazers Slowdive (Rowe had previously served with dreampop kindred spirits Chapterhouse).
Mojave 3's debut, Ask Me Tomorrow, was a refreshingly stripped down collection that changed little from the original demos. Halstead's melodic, folk- and country-tinged songs stood alone in a sea of Britpop anthems, drawing favourable (if lazy) comparisons to Nick Drake, Cowboy Junkies and Bob Dylan.
"We get tagged as a country band," mused Neil, "and I can understand why, but we never started out attempting to be a country band. We just wanted to write simple songs. And anyway, there is a continuity there. Slowdive were never about anything complicated, either. They were all simple songs as well, just played loudly. There is a level at which Mojave 3 are the same simple sort of ideas played quietly. Slowdive were just more focused on sound, while Mojave 3 are focused as much as possible on the songs."
Three years later, Out Of Tune continued where Ask Me Tomorrow left off. From the warm bar-room boogie of "Some Kinda Angel" to the stark simplicity of "Yer Feet", the album showed a group that had grown in both confidence and cohesiveness. Much of it was written in Cornwall, Neil having relocated to Newquay for the surfing and peace of mind. The others still live in London, where the recording took place, aided by friend and fellow musician Mark Van Hoen (aka Locust).
Third album Excuses For Travellers contained some of the most ambitious Halstead compositions yet, ranging from the unabashed pop of "Any Day Will Be Fine" to lachrymose epic "In Love With A View". The former added the name Brian Wilson to those routinely dropped in Mojave 3 reviews; the latter was infused with the rueful wisdom that characterises the best work of Paul Simon and or Jimmy Webb. Mojave 3's other core members contributed to the songwriting for the first time, Goswell providing the languid "Bringin' Me Home" and McCutcheon the gorgeously baleful, gospel-tinted closer "Got My Sunshine".
In 2002, Neil issued his solo debut, Sleeping On Roads, and embarked on a year-long world tour, visiting America an impressive three times. Every Mojave 3 album has sold more than its predecessor, and Sleeping On Roads continued this upward curve.