MOON GOONS

— First review of this album —

After being won over by the 2021 release "A Daydream Dark" by the Indianapolis, Indiana based MOON GOONS, it only made sense to travel back in time three years to check out their debut SPACE TRASH. No lineup changes have occurred so this one is basically a different set of eleven tracks. The band describes itself as garage prog which means the music is based on 1960s psychedelic rock in the same camp as bands like The Sonics, the early years of The Who, The 13th Floor Elevators and an endless number of similarly minded bands. From a contemporary point of view perhaps MOON GOONS most resembles King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard at various stages of its ever morphing trajectory. The prog on this debut is negligible compared to the next album though.

One of the most striking differences between SPACE TRASH and the following "A Daydream Dark" is that this album is much more energetic with the guitars often loose wiring into proto-metal territory. This debut is heavy psych whereas the following slowed things down a bit to focus more on the psychedelia although all the same ingredients are present here albeit in different proportions. The vocal harmonies aren't nearly as pronounced on this one either with more emphasis on the male vocals. The female vocals are primarily reserved for the multi-vocal harmony sections. Given the greater loudness of the guitar, bass and drum sections, the atmospheres which are present aren't nearly as pronounced therefore this debut is clearly more garage rock than either psychedelic or prog.

As for the prog aspects, the following album features more subtle twists and turns that qualify MOON GOONS to enter that arena whereas on SPACE TRASH it feels more like a loud grungy example of modern garage rock that happens to incorporate a few tricks and trinkets. The opening "Blackest Magic Mountain" is the most frenzied with loud raucous guitar riffs whizzing by and easily qualifying as hard rock and a form of proto-metal even. Of course this only unfolds after a trippy keyboard oriented intro. Lots of note sliding makes this one tense. The keys simulate a haunted house effect making this a spooky sounding affair. After starting out on steroids the album incrementally tones down the heaviness and becomes more like the second album which focuses on the psychedelia.

Unfortunately this one isn't quite as compelling as "A Daydream Dark." All the elements are in place but the songwriting isn't quite to the same standards and the album seems a bit scattered. For a debut album it's not bad at all and i love the stylistic approach that MOON GOONS has adopted. It's sorta like some kinda of Halloween sounding garage rock but the emphasis on the garage rock is generally too strong on this one and the recipe hasn't been perfected. The next album that has been corrected but this debut is still an interesting slice of modern psychedelic rock for sure, it's just that the following album with bits of prog and a better placing of the ideas is a step up.

3.5 rounded down

— First review of this album —

Coming from Indianapolis in the heart of the US Midwest, MOON GOONS is an interesting modern garage psych band that features the members of Corey Standifer (guitar, vocals), Brooke Rice (keyboard, vocals), Jacob Kozlowski (drums), Owen Welch (guitar, keyboard) and Devin Kearns (bass). A fairly new ensemble of freakery, MOON GOONS released its debut "Space Trash" in 2018, the EP "Slimy Clump" in 2019 and now in 2021 returns with its second offering of A DAYDREAM DARK.

Featuring ten acid fueled tracks, A DAYDREAM DARK starts off with the giddy title track that immediately reels you in to the band's unique stylistic approach of using various vocal styles as the primary coloring of their psychedelic stew. Both male and female vocals are used and they are all wickedly wild and freaky as hell! The short intro diddy is more of a folk based conception but once the eerie effects of "Voodoo Medicine" jump in, it's a guitar driven heavy psych marathon. The secret to the band's unique sound comes from the spooky vocal harmonies. In fact it all kind of sounds like a Halloween edition of The Beatles! Haha

Despite being included in some prog circles, MOON GOONS is primarily a psychedelic pop band that engages in noisy garage rock styled guitar distortion, energetic 60s sounding organ runs (in the vein of bands like Shocking Blue or The Doors) a bouncy celebratory delivery of their product. The crossover prog attributes comes from some interesting time signature changes and slightly unusual chord progressions but for the most part A DAYDREAM DARK is an instantly infectious brand of psychedelic space garage rock. One could almost say this is the garage rock version of Hail Spirit Noir. Just de-emphasize the metal and replace the raspy vocals with processed "normal" vocals and voila!

With a running time of just under 42 minutes, MOON GOONS delivers a delectable slice of retro heavy psych only with a beautifully mastered and mixed production. The careful attention to the tones, timbres and dynamics take the rather indie rock approach of the playing style into much more sophisticated arenas. As i've already stated, the vocal harmonies really ground this one. While the vocalists sound as if they were recruited from a soundtrack for spooky Halloween music, the harmonies sound mined from classic 60s acts such as Jefferson Airplane, the Mamas & Papas and others.

While the term garage rock can sound a bit one-dimensional, MOON GOONS is actually really great at mixing the simplicity of straight forward guitar grunge with creepy atmospheres, spaced out intros and otherworldly keyboard sounds. The band utilizes droning effects, subtle background contrapuntal cyclical loops and all instrumental moments such as on "Alien Sewage" capture a much larger spectrum than one may realize with the garage rock terminology thrown around. Sticking to the 60s psych pop rock playbook, tracks are fairly short with only the psych-drenched "Brain Mist" spiraling off to the seven minute zone. Tracks are generally succinct and to the point with the psychedelic touches providing supplementation to the 60s psychedelic rock songwriting standards.

While not completely mind-blowing, MOON GOONS surprises in how well it has modernized a style of music that has pretty much been jettisoned in favor of crafting more complex modern methodologies however like other bands ranging form Hail Spirit Noir and Blood Ceremony, MOON GOONS has adopted the classic template of classic 60s psychedelic pop rock and found a way to adapt it to the modern world. The result is a cleverly crafted roster of tunes that may not blow you away technically speaking but are ridiculously fun to stomp your feet to! As colorful as the trippy cover art, MOON GOONS has done a brilliant job on A DAYDREAM DARK bridging the psychedelic 60s with the skies-the-limit production approach of the modern era. This one is a rip roarin' good time! Now i gotta check out the first album!