"It's on the cusp of being an edgy modern expression of some classic ideas and techniques..."
Lo Moon - Lo Moon
Label: Columbia Records
Release Date: 23rd February 2018
Track Count: 10
Run Time: 49 minutes
Overview
Lo Moon's self-titled debut album is a really great mix of modern pop production and classic Scifi/spacey synth sound design. I love the mix of synth and indie guitar music production/composition choices, they're well balanced and really well executed. I will say however that, although I love the overall spacey tone, I'd like a bit more contrast on at least a couple of tracks. When everything is wet with reverb, it stops it from standing out as much as it should. I think it's relied upon slightly too much and gets a bit old half way through the album and starts to get a bit bland. Having said that, I do like that, although the album feels quite dense with sound, it doesn't feel claustrophobic and we're kept with the feeling of being in a large space. I just think more of a balance could be struck to make things less washed out.
There are so many 80s pastiches peppering this album, particularly when it comes to synths. I hear Moog sounds, Juno sounds and more modern soft synth equivalents. The vocals sound beautifully pained, like anything from the new wave movement, examples of which are too numerous to name here. As for overall tone, I would say that the album has a floaty major feeling to it, with some really nice moments of darkness thrown into the mix that work really well.
Today's Gems
Follow this month's playlist here
- Loveless
- The Right Thing
- Thorns
- Real Love
1. Loveless
- The syncopated beat works really nicely at the beginning.
- Love the tremolo on the guitar. Works really well with the tone.
- Nice use of drum machine loops.
- Love the reverb washed BV swells.
- Epic Tom runs, great contrast with more stripped back verses.
- Huge chorus. Love the spacey vocal lines.
- The stops in the chorus create a really nice suspense, which goes a long way to keeping a long track interesting.
- I love the way the bridge introduces new interesting textures (piano, organ, bass, etc.). The beat makes it feel like things are pushing forward really nicely, really good sense of building.
2. The Right Thing
- Really interesting pulsing guitar/bass lines hitting on 1/8 notes, adds a good groove playing against the beat.
- Clean/dry elements leave a good amount of room for spacey synth/vocal lines to fill in the gaps.
- I love how melodic the bass line feels in the chorus, it works really well with the synths.
- The synth lines in this track work brilliantly.
- The transition to the next track is seamless.
3. Thorns
- Interesting melody jumps around tastefully in the verse.
- Interesting mallet/pluck sounds in the chorus.
- Harmonies great.
- Interesting reverse sounds for ear candy second verse. Nice variation.
- I like the sneaky trumpet hinting at what's coming up in the bridge.
- I love how the reverb tail from the backing vocals blends seamlessly into the synth line coming out of the chorus into the verse.
- Interesting drum loop in the instrumental section.
- Love the trumpet solo.
- Some really nice melodic hooks played by the guitar.
4. Real Love
- Really nice rumbly bass line. Fills out the bottom end really well.
- Big pop chorus.
- This is a classic pop sound. Nothing new here, but it's pleasing to the ears and is a good example of the overall tone of the album, so I thought it'd be a good addition to the playlist.
Conclusion
On the whole, I thought this was a really good album. However, whether it's because it was released through a major label or for any other reason, I felt it was slightly watered down and lacked any real experimentation. It's on the cusp of being an edgy modern expression of some classic ideas and techniques, but it's toned back just enough that it might briefly appeal to a mass audience before being forgotten. Unfortunately, I think this is where it falls short and quickly loses interest.
Would I recommend it? Yes. Like I said, it's a really good album and is well worth a listen. The production is spot on, the songwriting and performances are excellent. I'm just craving something new and interesting from this type of music at the moment, and this doesn't quite deliver.
Lastly, I'd like to thank @illuminati-inc and @qsounds for featuring my last review, Geowulf - Great Big Blue, in their Curator's Choice article. Your kind words are really appreciated and it's lovely to be recognised for posting content that I enjoy creating so much. So, thank you. Go and check out the cool things they're doing to support unique content here on Steemit.
What do you think? Are you a Lo Moon fan? Have you given this album a listen? Do you have any recommendations of what I should be listening to? Let me know in the comments below.
This album was reviewed using beyerdynamic DT 770 PRO Studio Headphones - 80 Ohm
and G3 KRK Rokit 6
studio monitors, through a Focusrite Saffire Pro 40
audio interface.
Last month's playlist can be found here