MOON DUO

Well they began as a duo of keyboards and guitar led by WOODEN SHJIPS guitarist Ripley Johnson, joined by Sanae Yamada who mostly plays organ and there's fake drums as well. They have been a trio since 2015's "Shadow Of The Sun" when they added John Jeffrey as their drummer. He had been their live drummer up to this point. I should point out that "Mazes" is their second studio album not their debut as shown here as that honour belongs to "Escape" from 2010.

I have been listening to a lot of psychedelic music over the past year and this particular album just doesn't do it for me. They clearly had a plan to lock into a groove and stay there while male vocals and guitar come and go. A very samey album which I'm okay with reminding me of HAWKWIND a lot. As the reviewer on Pitchfork says this is a pop/psychedelic album where they use pop templates to support their drone and krautrock tendencies. Very repetitive and I really don't like the drum machine at times. I'd actually like to hear some of their newer albums as this band continues to put out music.

Based in California I do enjoy this album but it comes across as being a little too vanilla for my tastes. My descriptions for each track are almost the same with some variations. What stands out for me is the hand clapping on "When You Cut". Lots of catchy psychedelia clocking in at 44 minutes the perfect album length. And no liner notes or information to a fault, a pet peeve of mine. 3 stars and not a keeper.

Here's the thing about re-releasing an earlier release from 10 years ago and no one knew you released the original, per the group on bandcamp. *Hint it's been long out of print.

To celebrate the tenth anniversary of Moon Duo's long-out-of-print debut LP Escape, Sacred Bones is proud to present a new deluxe version of the album. The new reissue will include the original album in its entirety, plus three additional rare tracks taken from Moon Duo's wild early days.

What I love about rediscovering things after the fact is that it can take on a whole new meaning comparing it to the new albums.

Now this album IS juicy - it's like being at a banquette and each track is like a huge chunk of juicy meat (or veggies) being served upon you one after the other. It is quite a meal and perhaps only one that one can partake of in small doses and perhaps only once in awhile if you may just feel a little like gorging out!

Motorcycle I Love You

The first track serving cuts like a chainsaw, raw, edgy, and stubborn. Hints of Iron Butterfly, Hawkwind and even some sweet Gilmour-esque guitar techniques from back at Pompey. Wonderful opening track.

In The Trees

Second track slides up on you even as you haven't even finished digesting your first course. Very sly, and very encompassing. It is easy to be lured into this dreamy but heavily moving track. If you like psychedelic moments this will surely whet your appetite. Ozric fans may well enjoy the 2nd section of this song.

Stumbling 22nd St.

Zee Third track certainly highlights the bands early ideas and influences. Heavy keyboards and I would say a nice late 60s deal with a hint of 50s for good measure - good old Link Wray started something that crossed many genres and laid the path for some many experimental bands.

Escape

The fourth track is definitely no escape from the prior 3 but with a different side dish. We are presented with a nice 80s feel thrown in for good measure with a catchy rockabilly drum track - but all along with the driving fuzzy warm coating.

Now for the Bonus Tracks only available as of August 2020 on the special expanded edition of this fine album.

Bonus Track 1: A Little Way Different

Did someone mention that real Pink Panther really wanted to be James Bond? I'm not sure but this is a sneaky track that slyly takes you on a suspicious journey to where who knows. As much as the repetitive motion lures you into false sense of security it really makes the skin crawl and the hairs stand up on end.

Bonus Track 2: Catch As Catch Can

Well, well, well. I guess the thief didn't steal the last track after all. If the Ramones had been lucky enough to hear this track then history may have turned out quite differently for them. Can't help a bit of attitude and anarchy, all-be-it quite controlled and non threatening.

Bonus Track 3: Set It On Fire

As far anarchy goes Moon Duo are about as rebellious as Malcolm McLaren trying to re-start a new trend called 'Vogueing'. Lucky we had Madonna to do it for him. This is the best of the Bonus Tracks. I love the simple energy and driving beat and jerky moments throughout the tune. T-Rex would have loved this camp but slightly mean spirited ballroom jaunt. It's a mean, lean, shredding machine after all.

Overall Rating

I would rate this as a 4 as it shows that Moon Duo are not faking it, EVER. I do like consistency and sometimes there is no reason to change something you have honed. I love Moon Duo, they are AMAZING, and I have to admit, I felt like a bloated, beached whale after listening to the whole album a few times as I was writing this review.

To sum this album up, as a Mr. Creosote once said, "It's only wafer-thin"

* Note from the Band 'We made this record in a rehearsal space in San Francisco in late 2009. It was kind of a classic band space, shared by a rangy assortment of musicians over months and years, behind one of several similar doors in a dark red hall. A windowless room lit by string lights and an odd assortment of lamps, the walls a palimpsest of posters and gig fliers. There was a grimy, burn-pocked rug, cluttered gear in various stages of use and abandonment, and the air seemed to hang in a permanent film of smoke residue and stale beer. We recorded to a 4-track tape machine over the course of a few nights - we'd just start the beats, hit 'record' and let fly. We had a vague sense of coalescence, or fomentation, like a glimpse of a thing in outline which you can't yet see, but neither of us knew at the time that this was the record that would mark the beginning of our life as a touring band and would initiate our connections to so many (now long-time) friends, familiars and collaborators. Ten years feels like both a lifetime and the blink of an eye - measurable but impossible to quantify. These four tracks, and the others that join them here, are a snapshot of our earliest incarnation: flying blind, but high on the freedom of experimentation and filled with hope for things to come.'

I guess the 80s did have an affect on some of us as we had been subjected to some of the most diverse pop music on the radio every single day. (I'm being polite here)

Still, we had the music that we liked and we listen to, even if it wasn't our time musically.

Not saying that Moon Duo have anything to do with the 80s except they do have a LOT of heavy synth and drum sequences.

MOON DUO have this way of combining the past 5 decades in a richly seasoned veggie soup (probably vegan to be honest). Its not lentil and there is no deliberate incense. They didn't appear to decide on an era perhaps or a decade they just created a magnificent collage of the past 50 years in one rounded album STARS ARE THE LIGHT.

What they do have however, is a deliciously warm rounded sound that pulls you in. From the first track 'Flying' i felt that I had been lured into a weird disco where everyone was cycling their hips all together like they were doing the time warp.

Ahh!! "Stars are Light' the 2nd track released me from that awful disco and i suddenly felt i was at a party and everyone was dressed up like the band Yazoo (or Yaz in the US). Very dreamy and light and pleasant. Made me thirsty for some unknown reason.

'Fall (In Your Love)' WOW! Now were talking jungle baby. I got totally absorbed in this Tarentino-esque movie walking down some dusty road. This would have been a favorite at the London Whirligig back in the early 90s. Great beats and throbbing bass line. Hints of reggae and trance.

'The World and the Son' is the 4th dreamy track, still with the driving bass line and sub synth and lots of effects. This one certainly keeps you in the mood for chilling out and letting the whole thing take you away, almost trance like and wonderful.

5th Track is 'Lost Heads' and by this time my head was feeling lost, which I was quite happy about to be honest. This is where you can go to the spirit in the sky and not worry about it whatsoever.

'Eternal Shore" It must be wake up time for this little round-a-bout 60s throw back and i was half expecting the Wickerman to appear on the horizon! I really got into this subtle and simple tune and had a great time moving around with the sweet guitar riding on the storm.

BOOM! TRACK NUMBER 7 ... 7 BABY. Now were really going somewhere.

'Eye 2 Eye'

AWAY from the subliminal dream and back into reality all be it refreshed from the prior 6 tracks. Now I am really cruising with my old favs and loving every moment of the Hawkwind-Ozric feel to this bold track, even Kravitz would have been like, "dude you should have called me coz ida played the guitar on that one man".

It has a rock poppy edge which kind of works. I actually first heard this track while shopping in a mall. It was blaring out to the unsuspecting shoppers who were like, what is this weird stuff their playing in here.

The last Track 'Fever Night' finally brings you back into real life and you realize that you had somehow picked up Marc Bolan on the way back but didn't know how, but you're 'OK with it' as he's pretty cool,

As is MOON DUO who have really stepped things up with this great album, and in my opinion, their best to date.

It really is refreshing to find a band you never heard of before and go through all their albums and get to enjoy listening to them more and more and appreciate what they do.

An EXCELLENT album and would do well on any playlist.

— First review of this album —

This is the first that I have heard of this band, a band of two (two = duo...I get it now). This little EP consisting of two long and two short tracks is a nice taste some songs that sound very space rock retro but still retain a very structured sound.

Through the first track, you start out with some spooky noises which soon get replaced by a nice guitar/organ/percussion hook combination that follows throughout the song. Vocals with a lot of reverb follow and the vocals continue for about half of the song and the remainder continues with the instrumental hook continuing overlayed by some very nice guitar work that never gets overbearing, exactly what you would expect from the early to mid 70s space rock bands. This is somewhat reminiscent Ten Years After mixed with some Black Keys.

The next track has more of a distinct beat with a strumming guitar overlayed with an interesting organ sound (using some kind of reed stop I think) and more guitar work (no vocals here).

"Sickener" is the 3rd and longest track clocking in at over ten minutes. Again, a constant rhythm is established early on and remains throughout. The organ drones along this time in some airy sounding chord while the guitar chugs quickly along. No change until 3 minutes in and finally you get a key change and then it continues along modulating back and forth for about another minute. Suddenly a very harsh guitar hits your ears and this sounds almost like a chainsaw with a lot of feedback coming in and out. This sets the Horror theme for the song while the same constant rhythm keeps thumping and throbbing in the background and every once in a while a short chime sequence shines through, almost reminding me of early Porcupine Tree except with a lot dirtier guitar which continues to get dirtier as the song goes on. No rhythm change at all throughout, but strangely enough, it doesn't wear itself out like you think it would.

If you like space rock, you might like this, but there really isn't anything ground breaking here. It sounds good, but I believe it would grow old quickly since there isn't anything real interesting here. Good, but non-essential.