It is hard to picture Lo Moon\u2019s self-titled release as the band\u2019s debut; it\u2019s just such an uncharacteristic first album. It doesn\u2019t ooze bottled-up passion, or even just the rawness that first releases tend to exhibit. There is a sense of sagacity and self-assured maturity in Lo Moon<\/i> that makes it sound as if it is from a band that has been in the music business for a while. Take the simple fact that every song flows into the next one: a not-so-subtle\u2014and blatantly hubristic\u2014way of suggesting to the listener that the album needs to be experienced in its entirety, in the sequence deemed appropriate by the band!<\/p>\n
This audacity is almost needed to successfully execute an album of this intricacy and complexity by a debut artist. Lo Moon <\/i>is an elaborately crafted art-rock record, sounding as classy and classic as works by the likes of Peter Gabriel and Talk Talk. <\/p>\n
On track one, \u201cThis Is It,\u201d which conjures up jubilant elements of classic rock and psychedelic elements of progressive rock, frontman Matt Lowell\u2019s cautiously vulnerable vocals sound eerily similar to Talk Talk\u2019s Mark Hollis.<\/p>\n
The group\u2019s ambitiousness really comes to light in the seven minute long slow-burn \u201cLoveless,\u201d with its laidback trip-hop drum pattern that gets thunderous periodically. During the last three minutes, the song comes to a halt, sounding like a prayer, with spacey minimalistic keyboards and Lowell\u2019s tender vocals, before dramatically exploding in the last minute, where colossal drums and consuming spacey effects take over, as Lowell sings: \u201cTake my hand; in belief we trace our steps. Understand; no relief in silhouettes\u201d: cryptic and hopeful, something that an alien might say while they are abducting you\u2026 such a perfect ending for this unsettlingly beautiful song. <\/p>\n
The album, overall, has a sense of tranquility and spaciness with reflective synths and deliberate guitars played to create specific sonic effects. It is hard to pick out the different instruments, and the music works as a whole to create dense soundscapes with methodical and economical instrumentation.<\/p>\n
Lowell\u2019s sensitive vocals intensify the gravity of the music, giving the songs a sense of vulnerability and warmth. \u201cThorns\u201d is a wonderful embodiment of how Lo Moon\u2019s careful musicianship and Lowell\u2019s heartfelt singing can achieve absolute brilliance. With its swooning synths, airy beats, and a comforting trumpet solo, \u201cThorns\u201d is painfully poignant and pretty with a chorus that\u2019s gorgeously melancholic and reassuring, where Lowell sings: \u201cNo one can love you the same; I\u2019ll always want you this way; We\u2019ll learn to outgrow \/ The thorns on the rose.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lo Moon <\/i>is a sophisticated album for the thinking person. It doesn\u2019t chase instant earworms, but trades this temptation for making art that\u2019s intricate and thoughtful. And the best part is, Lo Moon are quite in their element making this art. They are not a \u201cseasoned\u201d outfit, but most certainly appear like one on this debut release, which is executed with fastidious perfection.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":40,"featured_media":35154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[11024],"rating":[5613],"class_list":["post-47032","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-lo-moon","rating-rating-a-minus"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/47032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/40"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47032"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/47032\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=47032"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=47032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}