With keyboard and drum machine-led swirls, higher-pitched and echoed
vocals, and an embrace for what could be called art-pop-not-rock, Moonface's Organ Music
is very much in the right place for 2011 at the least, something that
kicks against surroundings while still being part of a non-unified
grouping of artists increasingly interested in just that approach. Wolf Parade veteran Spencer Krug's
singing has a gently mannered feeling that could almost be from 1986 on
some obscure indie label, but the music, however equally derived from a
cryptic and fragmented past, matches it in being something that feels
of a new moment, a recombination that seeks its own logic. The theme of
ocean dwelling and exploration runs through the first two titles and
there's a feeling of watery quaver at work sonically too, something that
the vocal treatments don't hurt; listening to his wordless calls on,
appropriately enough, "Whale Song" (only in breaks rather than the full
run) is appropriately entrancing. Hearing the vocals layer further as
the keyboards turn just a little more strident and intense makes it all
the more entrancing, a beautiful bit of intense melodrama that never
fully lets go even as driving beats appear to underscore the conclusion.
"Fast Peter'"s simpler but enjoyable bubble and flow is a nice respite
in contrast, not something light and sweet per se but something that
settles in the listener; its beat-light second half still has a calm
rhythmic feeling carrying it forward, allowing for a little bit of
distanced and smile-raising soloing. Meanwhile, "Smoking cigarettes like
it's 2003!" makes for a great line from a song with a great if rude
title, "Shit-Hawk in the Snow," pumping the full home-organ psychedelic
zone to the full.
Tracklisting:
- Return To The Violence Of The Ocean Floor
- Whale Song (Song Instead Of A Kiss)
- Fast Peter
- Shit-Hawk In The Snow
- Loose Heart = Loose Plan
Listen to this album on Spotify