MOONWAGON

The Finnish space rock band MOONWAGON started as a quartet (their first two albums featuring synth expert Ami Hassinen known from the long-lived electronic music group NEMESIS) but the remaining trio of guitarist Joni Tiala, bassist Janne Ylikorpi and drummer Jani Korpi has become a very tight unit, a true power trio, with both Tiala and Ylikorpi handling also keyboards. This is the Kokkola-based band's fourth full-length album, and although there may not be significant stylistic changes since The Rule of Three (2015), I think the end result is more rewarding. Perhaps the compositions are more diverse and less riff-oriented, and the use of synths naturally more developed.

Aptly titled 'Banzai Boogie' is a fast-paced opener in which the HAWKWIND-like psych/stoner rock meets a tight RUSH instrumental with powerful guitar & synth interplay. The nearly 9-minute 'Far Apart' offers bouncy and pulsative space rock. The first half builds tension by a desperate distant voice repeating the word "connecting", and later that tension is released with more opened up playing and proper vocal sections.

Another extended track 'Waiting for Tomorrow' is pretty many-sided, almost to the point of being disjointed, containing both CAMEL-reminding melodic prog fusion and psychedelic heaviness with some freaky synths and attached vocals in a Hawkwind manner. 'Left Dangling' starts in a relaxed mood, especially the synths sound charmingly airy, but the elements of psychedelic space rock get thicker towards the end.

Brief 'Strange Encounters' practically only serves as an intro to 'Nights of Neon', a relatively synth-heavy piece with a slight Giorgio Moroder retro feel. The distorted vocal parts on it and a couple of other tracks are in my opinion rather unnecessary. The longest piece 'Smoke & Mirrors' (10:40) is undoubtedly the most diverse too, as it shifts between delicate elegance -- worth remarking is the cool bass line! -- and harder sounding space rock. The album closes with its calmest and the most keyboard oriented piece 'Orbits' that takes the listener into a dreamy celestial journey reminiscent of ASHRA.

If my rating is again somewhere around 3½ stars, it's now time to round it upwards. It's an unquestionable benefit that despite being about 17 minutes longer, this album succeeds to maintain its high spirit actually better than The Rule of Three (sometimes it feels almost hilarious in a happy way). The album title is not futile.

Finnish space rock band Moonwagon are still going strong. The third album The Rule of Three (2015) was the first one by the trio line-up (after the departure of synth wizard Ami Hassinen) and marked slightly rockier sound. This new five-track EP misses about ten minutes to be counted as a proper album, but it's a worthy release nevertheless. The title track starts in a very ballsy way with heavy drumming and roaring guitars & bass. Despite the evil title, it's rather uplifting guitar-oriented hard rocker with gorgeous synth passages. There are also a little bit of vocals, shouting one sentence a few time in the background. An unnecessary and very Hawkwind-like feature.

'Haunted Hallways' has a vibrating organ in the foreground. Roughly midway there's a delicious proggier section featuring glockenspiel, and towards the end psychedelic synth work finishes the trippy effectiveness of the composition. 'Alchemy' features bouzouki and ukulele to make it a very fresh and original. I've always appreciated the way Moonwagon combines spaceyness and more down-to-earth elements totally sovereignly. The briefest track 'Dus Aster' is a pure synth piece reminiscent of VANGELIS and JARRE, a delightful step aside from the rock orientation.

It changes seamlessly into the 8-minute 'South of Bermuda' that offers more of the hard-boiled space rock (some angry voice again...) that would get boring if there wasn't also pretty cool synth parts. As this track takes almost one third of the total length, and it misses the freshness of other tracks, my rating remains three stars. I hope Moonwagon won't steer their style more towards the vocal-added, beat-heavy Hawkwind territory and thus decrease their originality.

This third studio album of Moonwagon scribes a completely new kind of entry to their journey's log, their fresh approach on their cosmic conquest of sounds possibly dividing the reception among their fans. The personnel have reduced to trio due departure of their keyboard player, affecting to sound textures by reducing synthesizer presence and similarly giving more space to the bass player Janne Ylikorpi.

When looking to photographs of the band's recent gigs and reading the instrument details from the album booklet, I can't escape associations to Rush's late 70's and early 80's massive stacks of guitars, synthesizers and bass pedals. Like the albums from Rush-era referred focused to "post-apocalyptic" themes, there is also certain dystopic feeling on the whole album, a hint of seriousness when compared to their earlier record's abstract sonic rejoicing. This third album with three musicians seems to resonate with me to mankind's apocalyptic steps culminating to Trinity event, the scenario of final destruction presented most dramatically on the album covers and booklet. I mailed to Joni and asked about this scene, which appeared to be a deserted house with larger space for several activities, now being smashed to pieces by local kids. Later the building got burned to the ground, and somehow this also associates with my understanding of desolation and hardships culminating here in Finland outside the few city centrums with workplaces and universities.

This feeling is also strengthened by the opening verse "The ending is just the beginning", giving hope to the issue as like Petri Walli once wrote, "something new borns when something old dies". I certainly feel the band has reincarnated itself to a much better direction with this album, which I believe was a big enterprise to complete on basis of booklet notes about recordings and mastering. There seems to be more focus also to pleasantly pulsing rhythmic grooves and quite accessible melodic compositions. The psychedelic rock riffs and descending motives enhance the sinister flavor of the recording's infinite patterns, but the music does not grow on sadistic levels. Instead there seems to be some kind of human presence around observing the chaos of reality from the imagination of musician's work, aiming to find repercussive reflections with the listener's feelings. Musically I felt the album on a whole both synthesize the aggressive elements found from their debut record and more ethereal tones of their second album. There are also more psychedelic vibes associating with fresh avocados tasting of Kingston Wall on among the songs, and there are also few tracks with vocals, breaking the silence of space. Also tracks like "Run to The Sun" and "Skylines at Night" have some sort of Hawkwind feeling on them, however without cosmic synth electronics blurring on the background. Joni Tiala has also had currently a very active musical phase, as in addition of Moonwagon works he has released a solo album, toured with folk group Vellamo and also worked on musical projects aimed to young children. I believe this has affected to the width of his musical perception and allowed elements of several styles to be adopted on the sound of this fine album.

As only minor critic I would suggest separating opening intro speaking as their own tracks on the CD's, like was done on The Jimi Hendrix Experience's "Axis: Bold as Love" digital versions do. How important the narrations are to the album wholeness, this kind of reciting might grow tiresome quite fast. This can possibly be just an indication of today's hastiness of listeners, caught to the maelstrom of hectic society. So warmly recommended for enthusiasts of spaced out progressive rock, surfing on waves of psychedelia but not getting lost to too stoned noodling's. I would also suggest keep eye on event's happening at Oulu's Tukiohta; This stellar drinking place for many kinds of underground events gather also psychedelic light shows, interesting art rock bands from Northern Finland also Swedish groups of the scene. I'm uncertain what the future plans of the trio is, but whatever that would be, with this album they close one circle and finish their journey back home with great style.

- First review of this album -

The Finnish space rock band MOONWAGON has become a trio after the departure of keyboardist Ami Hassinen. The keys on this recent release are shared by guitarist Joni Tiala and bassist Janne Ylikorpi. The album may not have quite as wide sonic pallette as the excellent Foyers of the Future (2012), but it's pleasantly varied, a little more oriented to string instruments (dulcimer and mandolin accompany the guitars). Perhaps one could say that the trio's music is a bit more "down to earth", but nevertheless it still offers fine moments of intelligent space rock.

There are only six tracks with varied lengths. One of them, 'Run to the Sun', features vocals of drummer Jani Korpi. This song has a steady uptempo beat and the vocals make it sound like a vintage HAWKWIND rocker. It is OK in its simple honesty but I'm glad the band didn't go further in that direction. The opening track, starting with a rough, low whisper "The ending is just the beginning" is a typical slice of space rock, built on repetitive riffs (comparable to PHARAOH OVERLORD) and at one point decorated with ghostly echoing notes (reminiscent of some moments of e.g. 'Remember the Future' by NEKTAR or 'Echoes' by PINK FLOYD).

The less psychedelic 'Forgotten by Time' has maginificent contributions of great-sounding bass and soloing electric guitar. 'Fresh Avocados' is a brief and lighthearted acoustic number led by mandolin and percussion. 'Skylines at Night' is nice, like meeting an old friend because the sound and certain melodic lines remind me of Signals-era RUSH (that album was among my earliest listenings, by the way). There is a mild progressive unpredictability within the 8-minute length. The prog expectations are biggest on the 17-minute 'The Journey Back Home'. A hurriless tempo... electric guitar weaving its psychedelic-flavoured solos... a change in dynamics... Here and there I feel that the track is lingering in a slightly tiresome jam-like approach, but in the end it is quite interesting and progressive.

This is a good album that shows MOONWAGON still going strong. As usual, the rounding of my 3½ stars is based on the design. Can't say I'd like the photos from a brutally decayed house full of junk.

Excellent instrumental progressive spacerock.

All the elements are present for a full hour off tripping progmusic.

Nice, melodic keyboards, aswell as guitarwork, thundering drums, constant changing rhythmpatterns and good compositions.

The bass is really loud and takes a leading role in a lot of songs. It reminds me of Anekdoten and Hawkwind. The music itself sounds like Ozrics and Hidria Spacefolk but Moonwagon rocks harder.

Extra flavours are added via use of accordeon, acoustic guitar, organ, percussion. Moonwagon is a real adventurous musical group and takes the listener on a journey through a strange planet.

I don't know about other albums by this band, but I will definately search for them.

This second album is my recent introduction to the Finnish instrumental band Moonwagon. Better late... My first impression is very positive. The 8-minute opener 'Elsewhere' starts interestingly in a way that doesn't immediately reveal the nature of the music. First you hear just drums, then the others join in turns: acoustic guitar, bass, piano. If you listened to this in a blindfold test, you could expect a vocalist enter too and think that it's either a singer-songwriter or [mainstream] pop album. Litte by little the music grows and some space rock elements come closer, but the track avoids categorization and is just generally enjoyable mid-tempo instrumental art rock. 'New World Warrior' is more hectic, and is actually in a constant progress. Soundscape does have a psychedelic edge, but for the most part it feels closer to an instrumental section on some Flower Kings epic than e.g. Hawkwind. I say this in a positive sense. 'Dawnwnd' soars even more effectively.

At this point I'm already impressed by the band's wide range in playing. For example Ami Hassinen's keyboards use influences from vintage prog such as Genesis as well as from the so called space rock tradition. Further tracks only make this feeling stronger, concerning the whole quartet. Joni Tiala is equally many-sided as guitarist, and the rhythm section of Janne Ylikorpi and Jani Korpi keeps everything in good balance. I wouldn't only call this excellent space rock, this is (at least nearly) excellent prog, period. The band have a voice of their own, and the spacey and earthly elements are in nice harmony. When the tracks grow longer, they are not extended just for the sake of it, but because there is a lot of happening in the music.

There's no any lack of coherence or creative team spirit, I mean that each single musical ingredient, no matter how virtuotic, works perfectly for the whole, which remains quite interesting all the way. (For progressive rock with vocals it is no doubt easier to keep the listener excited, not to mention forming album concepts.) It wasn't very far for me to give five stars, but maybe there are no absolutely special, cathartic mindblowers full of magic. Instead we have here a strong 62-minute album with no fillers around. Warmly recommended!

Moonwagon's debut album is a real eye opener, not since Italy's one shot 1999 wonder Sunscape (a true galactic classic) have I been so impressed by a new player on the astro- prog front! These Finns got together at a festival and decided to unleash this 'enterprise' on us space cadets. A delirious selection of exotic space rock compositions, coxswained by that most ubiquitous instrument for galactic roaming, the bass guitar! Expertly wielded by Janne Ylikorpi , the low end rudder is more intricate than say classic Hawkwind (who prefer a more brutal , steam-roller onslaught) or the hippy-trippy lunacy of the trilogy-era Gong.

The opener is an out and out classic 'Hoodoo Horizons' just pulsates like there is no today or tomorrow while relying on incredibly raunchy riffs, bruising rhythm patterns sounding like a very heavy Pink Floyd! 'We have ignition!' Easily one of my favorite space prog tracks ever! Lancinating synth blows, stringent guitars pummel without any mercy, razor sharp and anvil hard! Sizzling synth vibrates wildly and when the sublime kicks in, oh my my! Ylikorpi just dazzles with multiple tortuous runs that defy gravity. Guitarist Tiala slices through with shivering fluidity. Drums only further force the issue. I mean, this is just diabolical! Wow! The band has the typical Finn audacity to delve into a return to 1969 era Santana, complete with Gregg Rollie-like organs ablaze, just as hard as Mike Shrieve drumming on the ceremonious 'Highway to Orange Desert'. The guys just have fun, reproducing a sound that was glorious then and still is now, a Latino-influenced prog piece that is delicious and clever. Please focus on the rather precise instrumental prowess on display. Keyboardist Ami Hassinen invites some illustrious e-piano to great effect, together with is other ivories and passes nicely to Tiala to rip off a few sterling solos, sounding like Neil Schon when with early Santana. Another tremendous performance by the bassist, getting his nosy four string monster involved in pushing this miraculous track forever forward, invincible! This is very slickly produced in its inherent simplicity, yet well-crafted and inspired. Relentless brilliance, yes even the term 'stoner music' applies.

On 'Oceans Away' the Finns actually aspire to show off their Ozric tentacles but infuse the driving groove with some seductive bluesy guitar soloing. Pulsating, thrilling and yet emotionally awesome, this is another clear winner, a proud definition of what cosmic rock music is all about. Their style is so much more musical and textured than the classic leaders of space/psychedelic prog. Those are very lofty targets and Moonwagon seem to be on the perfect orbit to become the next big thing! This track is on par with the opener, a critical discovery of progressive mood music. Tiala just smokes it on lead guitar, egging the bass and the drummer along, heavy doom laden riffs keep one panting and claustrophobic. I am starting to laugh at the sheer pleasure of it all, a sure sign that I am being intimidated. Does not happen often!

The ultra-cool 'Super-Altar' unleashes a slow vortex of gentle sound, very mellow with wispy flute synths and acoustic guitar phrasings, the bass burrowing painlessly and drums just tapping along. Ethereal and relaxing. 'Starmask' reverts to the gritty bluster, wasting little time in settling old scores and pushing a dirtier agenda, boisterous and yet deliberate. Tiala slowly uncorks a screaming solo that's very 'Gilmour in a bad mood', thrashing riffs and colliding synths that seem to screech like a dentist's drill, all hammered along nicely by the pile driver rhythmic unit.

'Thunderdrift' as the title implies is a tempestuous affair, loaded with classic heavy rock pretense where the bass and drums pound obstinately and the axe assault is just a rambling colossus, contrasting with a serene mid-section just to keep the blood boiling. Of course, the concluding section is sheer volatile delirium, a spacecraft of musical insanity at its best, lost in the vast and empty corridors of the cosmos. 'Sundown Mountain', now that just nails it right there, a 15 minute+ finale that takes it to the nth degree, a symphonic projection instead of the more typical jam fest, the howling synth winds bring this work a more ambient inception, recalling a more deliberate arrangement that sets up a mood that just has musical lust to spray all over the horizon. Explosively melodic and a highly talented crew make for a superb combo, the piece just grows in intensity and sheer determination. Its atmospheric but with balls, and even tosses in some Magma 'like choir work, it's hilarious and so cleverly done. The Vander-like beat only conveys the zeuhl feel even further. Music like this scares me only because it's so good !The shift is gradual into a more rockier feel, sustain-laden axe washes scour the sonic windshield , the rough bass smashing through the mist whilst the snarly drums clobber hard and fast. Technically, these dudes are accomplished BIG TIME but it's the inspiration that I find so shocking, the interplay is stupendous, the beats super-tight and the passion, limitless.

With their first two masterpieces, Moonwagon are on my 'GET ALL THEIR STUFF' list, which is not that crowded really but growing steadily, especially since 2010. A masterful debut.

4.5 Noxious dunes

Moonwagon's 'Foyers of the Future' is an instrumental space prog album with some blazing guitars and soaring synths over very rhythmic bass and drums, along with Hawkwind space effects and atmospherics.

Spacey ambient textures on 'Elsewhere' are followed by the rhythmic heavy fuzz guitar rock on 'New World Warrior'. The icy space winds howl and then the warm synths of 'Dawnwind' emanate. The Hawkwind like rhythms are terrific and break out into some off beat passages. Overall this is a melodic slice of psych prog with grandiose keyboards and scorching guitars. The track locks into a strong figure and has hypnotic sounds that crank along and draw in the listener, and of course ther is a ton of spacey guitar breaks and swirling synths; a real masterclass instrumental highlighting the album clocking 6:43.

Next up is 'Endless Collision' driven by twin acoustic guitar vibrations, in short graceful weeps and some inspired finger picking prowess. 'Through the Veil of Rain' is more acoustic but a strong drum tempo, though has a crossover sound, not that much different than Tommy Emmanuel's style. It is very long at over 11 minutes, but builds over the main melody in an extended synth solo that goes on for an eternity. It is very psychedelic and locks into a rollicking heavy guitar groove.

'Shadows Whisper Fire' moves along on a simple spaced out rock riff but has a tremendous bass solo buried within. It does have some cosmic synth sounds to indulge in towards the end. 'Saturn Summer' is another heavy track with a great bassline, and swathes of synths over a driving clanging guitar chord progression. 'Past Moves' is more steady tempo beats and overdoses on guitar and synths. 'Tranceport' is a dramatic change with a very strong rhythm and bass to die for. The synths sparkle and shine over a building string synth motif. The guitars are heavier and distorted with some wah wah effects and delay thrown in. I really like this track as it kicks along like a race car hurtling down a track.

Overall this is atmospheric music you can throw on when studying, kicking back after a long day or reading a novel; it is intense enough and spacey to hold its own but I rate it as highly spaced up background music to revel in.

There is one fabulous thing about reviewing. You never know what's gonna come to your mail box! And that's a delight for me. A while ago, I received a pack from the Finnish label Running Moose and one of the CDs was this one, Foyers Of The Future (2012), the second album of the band Moonwagon (also Finnish).

Moonwagon is a Space Rock instrumental band formed in 2008 by Ami Hassinen (keyboards), Jani Korpi (drums and percussion), Joni Tiala (electric & acoustic guitars) and Janne Ylikorpi (bass). Foyers Of The Future (2012) is the follow up of Night Dust (2011). The album was recorded and mixed between February and June 2012 in Finland and produced by the band itself. Running Moose has been releasing several interesting albums in the Space Rock/Psychedelic field and Foyers Of The Future (2012) is definitely one of them!

Before anything else, it is good to know that some bands still care about their CDs. Foyers Of The Future (2012) is presented in a nice digipack with a wonderful and enigmatic gatefold kind of cover. Not just that, the booklet of the album is basically a poster with a psychedelic image showing the band posing as a mini crowd.

It is quite hard to describe track-by-track kind of details in Foyers Of The Future (2012) because the songs are tied together and you hardly notice the changing of the tracks. Moonwagon's music is pretty much dominated by the keyboards and synths of Ami Hassinen with the Joni Tiala guitars playing a big and clever role. But for them to be able to freely walk with their instruments you need a tight and precise 'kitchen', Moonwagon has it with Jani Korpi drums and the amazing bass playing of Janne Ylikorpi.

Foyers Of The Future (2012) is pretty much divided into A and B sides, like an LP. The first set of songs, 'Elsewhere' and 'New World Warrior' starts slow and gains power within the songs. The third track 'Dawnwind' is a big highlight of the album. 'Endless Collision' is a short, acoustic piece with a an interesting fretless bass and closing the first part we have the longest track on the album with a jam feeling, 'Through The Veil Of Rain'. Interesting to notice that besides being an instrumental band, the songs that Moonwagon compose are pretty much melody oriented, you can listen the melody and even imagine a singer in them.

The second set of songs contains songs a bit larger when it comes to the time and it kicks in with 'Shadows Whisper Fire' that is commanded by Janne Ylikorpi bass, great track! Then we have 'Saturn Summer' that is another amazing track. 'Past Moves' starts a bit Symphonic but it turns out that it is almost a romantic song, Eric Clapton style. 'Tranceport' is a long Space Rock trip and ends Foyers Of The Future (2012) perfectly.

Moonwagon is a pretty new band and Foyers Of The Future (2012) is just their second album. But, it turned out that if Space Rock is your cup of tea you should go for this guys without hesitation. The band recorded a solid and interesting album that I can highly recommend!

(Originally posted on progshine.net)

Suitable for rides on Saturn?

If I ever rent a buggy on a distant planet, I'm thinking of bringing this one with me. You always need an album for smooth rides on zero gravity, gazing at the stars. I think the best word to describe it lies in the cover artwork: a shining diamond, giving an array of colors that succeeds themselves at a high pace. Lots of colors provided by: a vast arsenal of synths, dynamic drumming, busy bass lines and One of These Days guitar tones. This is Moonwagon: the love child of Pink Floyd and Queens of the Stone Age; space and desert rock at the same time.

Very nice space/ desert rock, perfect for interstellar voyages, especially the non-chemically- induced ones. Snatch off one star for the lack of crazyness, a bit more insanity could've give the record a perfect score!