THIS DARK EARTH

Three years after their last release, 2022's excellent Thank You from the Future, Moon Letters have returned with their third full-length album. I've mentioned a few times that they're one of my favorite local acts, and if you follow me on Facebook, you will occasionally see photos of their rather theatrical live shows. If you get a chance to see them perform, I highly recommend it.

My first experience hearing this album was at one of those performances. It was their album release show, and they played This Dark Earth in its entirety. That performance was part of a larger musical festival called Cascadence, formerly Seaprog. Occurring most Junes (there have been a few years it did not occur), it's a fantastic highlight of mostly-local progressive music acts.

"Energy of the Heart" kicks things off on a relatively mellow note. After that calm intro, though, it bursts into a complex and hard-rocking instrumental passage that leads into the first verse. The vocal arrangements are more complex on this record than on past releases, and I really like that. This song sees Moon Letters take a slightly heavier turn, drawing clear inspiration from early Dream Theater. Over the course of this song, the band expertly weaves together numerous musical ideas, ranging from funky instrumental excursions to stripped-back verses.

In contrast, "Silver Dream" dials back the intensity. There's a relaxed feel to this song's rolling rhythm, and it effectively cultivates a dreamlike atmosphere. It's less sprawling than the first song but no less enjoyable.

"Island of Magic Mirrors" eschews any introduction, opting to launch straight into a peppy verse. Flavors of post-punk are evident in the early moments of this song, and the slower middle section has a more lurching, slightly-off-kilter feel. They shift back and forth between these different themes, and it all gels in a very natural manner.

"Lonely Moon" is a mellow little acoustic interlude that acts as something of a palate cleanser, and following that, "In the Catacombs" sees the band dip their toes back into more familiar territory. It's an energetic cut full of flashy instrumental fills and surprising detours. The bass is especially rubbery and high in the mix here, adding some unique touches.

Wrapping up This Dark Earth is the 17-minute "Dawn of the Winterbird", their longest song to date. There are some fun Latin jazz touches in this song's opening moments. Things are fairly mellow, but there's also an underlying sense of tension. There's undeniable upward momentum as this first part progresses. 

After an exciting instrumental passage in which guitar and synth battle it out, the transition to part two is much quieter and calmer. The music is light and breezy with a laid-back pace, and it's a nice reprieve from the bombast found elsewhere on this record.

Part three, comprising nearly half this song's length, has a woozy wobbliness to its opening, and its pace remains restrained at first. Things quickly pick up, and soon the band is racing toward an exciting conclusion. Musical ideas from earlier in the song are revisited, and everything melds into a beautiful, cohesive whole.

Moon Letters' third full-length album is another strong entry in their catalogue. The band has continued to refine and build upon their sound on each successive release, and This Dark Earth is their best-realized record yet. They strike a great balance of influences from past prog giants while imbuing their music with a character all their own. Threading such a needle is very difficult to do, so it's always great to hear a band that pulls that off.

Review originally published here: theeliteextremophile.com/2025/06/24/album-review-moon-letters-this-dark-earth/

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