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[one_half last=”yes”]MOON DUO
Shadow Of The Sun
Release-Date: 03.03.2015
Label: Sacred Bones Records
Tracklist:
01. Wilding
02. Night Beat
03. Free the Skull
04. Zero
05. In a Cloud
06. Thieves
07. Slow Down Low
08. Ice
09. Animal
NBHAP Rating: 4,2/5
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2 and 1 make 3
MOON DUO – basically a real duo, consisting of guitarist/singer Ripley Johnson and keyboarder/singer Sanae Yamada – have outlived their name with this third full-length. Shadow Of The Sun follows 2011’s Mazes and 2012’s Circles and is the first one in which live drummer John Jeffrey has been involved in the production process. Furthermore, Johnson and Yamada took a step out of their comfort zone by finishing this record in Portland, leaving their homebase San Francisco behind. Despite all the changes we still get to hear a typical MOON DUO record – maybe even their best to date.
The storm that started a wave
Of course there is nothing really new about MOON DUO‘s repetitive soundscapes, but still guitarist and singer Ripley Johnson might have quite an influence on the latest psychedelic rollback, including success of bands like HOOKWORMS and TEMPLES. Be it as a guitarist in WOODEN SHJIPS or with his partner in crime Sanae Yamada as MOON DUO – Johnson’s been constantly digging deep in the younger psychedelic rock history. From SPACEMEN 3 to 13TH FLOOR ELEVATOR and back. With a sound somewhere in between toxic waste and a dust-dry roadtrip through the desert, MOON DUO didn’t start a revolution. But with the amount of strictness and sincerity they put into their musict they surely stand in the eye of the psychedelic storm that remains to be coming over us.
Simple formula, enormous result
You might think that if you know one MOON DUO song you know them all. But that’s just part of the trick. MOON DUO‘s mantra, consistent of krautrock-synths, drone heaviness and surf punk fever, is simple to follow but hard to understand. Within the triangle of electronic shockwaves, repetitive beats and hazey vocals, Johnson, Yamada and the new third band member create a maelstrom of sound: Ranging from groovy (Wilding), to challenging trips (Thieves), dreamy relaxation (In A Cloud) and up to look-at-all-the-fucks-I-don’t-give-punk (Animal).
The third Moon Duo record speaks loudly of the band’s confidence in their sound. Feel invited to turn on, tune in and drop out along to ‘Shadow Of The Sun’.
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