Moon Duo Stars Are the Light

Top 40 albums of 2016 – 2020: #’s 25 – 21

This latest batch of my top albums of the last five years includes a lot of excellent shoegaze and psych-rock. Which made the cut? Read on…

#25: Slowdive – (self-titled) (2017)

Slowdive returned with this gorgeous shoegaze record sounding like they never took a twenty-two-year pause. It’s lush, luxurious, and sometimes loud, and it reminded everyone how much they missed the band and how much everyone needed a warm hug.

#24: Moon Duo – Stars Are the Light (2019)

The cover of Stars Are the Light sums up the album pretty well – psychedelic disco from another planet. It was a welcome return for Moon Duo and a bit of a surprise direction for them, but one much needed and appreciated as we were about to get walloped with a pandemic. This record would become a respite from COVID blues whenever you needed it.

#23: A Place to Bury Strangers – Pinned (2018)

Pinned is the first APTBS album featuring Lia Braswell on drums and backing (and sometimes lead) vocals, and the energy she brings to the band is palpable from the outset. The band somehow gains even more power than they had before and takes on a new sound that bodes well for future endeavors.

#22: Frankie and the Witch Fingers – Monsters Eating People Eating Monsters… (2020)

This double album is chock full of epic riffs, psychedelic freak-outs, and jaw-dropping grooves. It sounds like they went into the studio and unloaded every frustration and desire they’ve had since 2016. It blends Stooges‘ power with Zappa jams, Thin Lizzy funk, and Oh Sees trips.

#21: Here Lies Man – You Will Know Nothing (2018)

I discovered Here Lies Man with this album after their label sent it to me with the question, “What if Black Sabbath played Afrobeat?” You have my attention. HLM‘s second record knocked me out of my shoes, and I immediately began telling everyone about them. The Afrobeat rhythms combined with fuzzy bass, synths, and guitars were intoxicating and thrilling. Add to that the band’s philosophy that every album is meant to be thought of as a film / story, and it’s a film you’ll want on 4K Blu-Ray to play through your giant home entertainment system to the annoyance (or love) of your neighbors.

As we reach the top 20 albums of the last five years, we’ll see more shoegaze and psychedelia and the return of a legend.

Keep your mind open.

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Review: Moon Duo – Stars Are the Light

I might have given you an odd look in the last year or so if you’d told me that the psychedelic rock pairing of Moon Duo were making a new record that was going to include a lot of stuff that you could easily slip into a house music set.

Sure enough though, and in keeping with their nature to explore any kind of music they like, Moon Duo (Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada) made Stars Are the Light, a fine record of grooves influenced by 1970’s disco, krautrock, synth wave, and, naturally, psychedelia.

The opening track, “Flying,” immediately makes you feel like you’re floating not only off the ground, but through the roof of your house. The vocals never outweigh the trippy instrumentals, they only enhance them. The title track continues our drift around the Earth with bubbly synths and Moon Duo’s lyrics reflecting how all of us are unique stars in this universe.

“Fall (in Your Love)” brings in spaghetti western guitars to the slippery electronic beats. “The World and Sun” is one of the funkiest cuts on the record, mixing spaced-out synths with South American hand percussion and reverb-laced vocals to produce a sweet sound. “Lost Heads” is psychedelic bliss taking you out of orbit and floating toward the star cluster of your choice.

“Eternal Shore” boosts the krautrock influences a bit with the beats, but keeps the vocals firmly in psychedelic territory. The touch of steel drum-like synth stabs is a nice one and reflects the image of a never-ending beach on an idyllic planet. “Eye 2 Eye” brings in fuzzy guitar to race alongside EDM beats for a fast track that belongs on your next favorite anime action film. “Fever Night” slows down the album for the close, but it’s nothing maudlin. It’s a perfect end to a groovy time, almost like slipping into a hot tub after you’ve had great sex.

Stars are indeed the light, and so are we. Each of us are divine beings connected on this small orb in the middle of space. We are connected with each other and what lies beyond our senses. Moon Duo seek to remind us of this cosmic connection and acceptance that is there for us to embrace. Stars Are the Light is like a singing bowl, providing us the tones to remember who we are and who we are to each other.

Keep your mind open.

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Moon Duo release “Eternal Shore” ahead of album due September 27th.

Moon Duo shares the final pre-release single, “Eternal Shore,” from their new album, Stars Are The Light, out September 27th on Sacred Bones. It follows the previously released title track and “Lost Heads.” Across “Eternal Shore,” Sanae Yamada’s hazy vocals drift over reverberating synth and flitting guitar licks. She says, “The lyrics are about the search for a sense of belonging and for the truth of one’s inner being, beneath the masks we’re conditioned to wear in order to function in society.” “We were experimenting with a lot of different rhythms for this record, and this one is in 5/8ths time, which is a real departure for us,” continues Ripley Johnson. “It moves us further away from the classic motorik beat. And it’s special because it’s the first song on which Sanae wrote the lyrics and sings lead.”

Stars Are The Light has a sonic physicality that is at once propulsive and undulating; it puts dance at the heart of an expansive nexus that connects the body to the stars. These are songs about embodied human experience rendered as a kind of dance of the self, both in relation to other selves and to the eternal dance of the cosmos. Johnson’s signature guitar sound is at its most languid and refined, while Yamada’s synths and oneiric vocals are foregrounded to create a spacious percussiveness that invites the body to move with its mesmeric rhythms.

“We have changed, the nature of our collaboration has changed, the world has changed, and we wanted the new music to reflect that,” says Yamada.

After playing dates in Europe, the duo will bring a new live audio-visual show across North America. All dates are on sale now and can be found below.

Stream “Eternal Shore” – https://youtu.be/AEpR3JQnGWQ

Stream “Lost Heads” – https://youtu.be/HlBMsnPi93M

Stream “Stars Are The Light” – https://youtu.be/bYXVk4cEbkY

Pre-order Stars Are The Light – https://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr228-moon-duo-stars-are-the-light

Moon Duo tour dates: Thu. Oct. 17 – Ghent, BE @ Videodroom Fri. Oct. 18 – Krakow, PL @ Malopolski Garden Of The Arts Sun. Oct. 20 – Amsterdam, DK @ Paradiso Noord Mon. Oct. 21 – Berlin, DE @ Volksbuhne Wed. Oct. 23 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F Thu. Oct. 24 – Vevey, CH @ Rocking Chair Sat. Oct. 26 – Angers, FR @ Le Chabada Mon. Oct. 28 – London, UK @ Earth Tue. Oct. 29 – Manchester, UK @ Dancehouse Wed. Oct. 30 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Thu. Oct. 31 – Glasgow, UK @ BAAD Fri. Nov. 1 – Birmingham, UK @ The Crossing Sat. Nov. 2 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Sun. Nov. 3 – Gateshead, UK @ The Sage Mon. Nov. 4 – Brighton, UK @ St. Bartholomew’s Church Tue. Nov. 5 – Paris, FR @ Petit Bain Wed. Nov. 6 – Charleroi, BE @ Rockerill Thu. Nov. 7 – Luxembourg, LU @ De Gudde Wëllen Sat. Nov. 9 – Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who Tue. Nov. 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Wed. Nov. 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts Thu. Nov. 14 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel Fri. Nov. 15 – Kingston, NY @ BSP Sat. Nov. 16 – Montreal, QC @ SAT Mon. Nov. 18 – Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall Tue. Nov. 19 – Detroit, MI @ MOCAD Wed. Nov. 20 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Fri. Nov. 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Sat. Nov. 23 – Oakland, CA @ The New Parish Mon. Nov. 25 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom Tue. Nov 26 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos Wed. Nov. 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue

Keep your mind open.

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Moon Duo find some “Lost Heads” on the newest single from their upcoming album – “Stars Are the Light.”

Moon Duo shares the second single, “Lost Heads,” from their new album, Stars Are The Light, out September 27th on Sacred Bones. Following up previous single “Stars Are The Light” which featured “an alien disco groove filled with gossamer synth tones and left-field strings” [Paste], “Lost Heads” shimmers with an aura that hints at The Haçienda and makes for a laid-back, airy and distinctly Moon Duo take on 90s rave.

“We have changed, the nature of our collaboration has changed, the world has changed, and we wanted the new music to reflect that,” says the band’s Sanae Yamada.

Stream “Lost Heads” – https://youtu.be/HlBMsnPi93M

Stream “Stars Are The Light” – https://youtu.be/bYXVk4cEbkY

Pre-order Stars Are The Light – https://www.sacredbonesrecords.com/products/sbr228-moon-duo-stars-are-the-light

Moon Duo Tour Dates: Thu. Oct. 17 – Ghent, BE @ Videodroom Fri. Oct. 18 – Krakow, PL @ Malopolski Garden Of The Arts Sun. Oct. 20 – Amsterdam, DK @ Paradiso Noord Mon. Oct. 21 – Berlin, DE @ Volksbuhne Wed. Oct. 23 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen F Thu. Oct. 24 – Vevey, CH @ Rocking Chair Sat. Oct. 26 – Angers, FR @ Le Chabada Mon. Oct. 28 – London, UK @ Earth Tue. Oct. 29 – Manchester, UK @ Dancehouse Wed. Oct. 30 – Liverpool, UK @ Invisible Wind Factory Thu. Oct. 31 – Glasgow, UK @ BAAD Fri. Nov. 1 – Birmingham, UK @ The Crossing Sat. Nov. 2 – Leeds, UK @ Brudenell Sun. Nov. 3 – Gateshead, UK @ The Sage Mon. Nov. 4 – Brighton, UK @ St. Bartholomew’s Church Tue. Nov. 5 – Paris, FR @ Petit Bain Wed. Nov. 6 – Charleroi, BE @ Rockerill Sat. Nov. 9 – Utrecht, NL @ Le Guess Who Tue. Nov. 12 – Brooklyn, NY @ Music Hall of Williamsburg Wed. Nov. 13 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts Thu. Nov. 14 – Washington, DC @ Rock & Roll Hotel Fri. Nov. 15 – Kingston, NY @ BSP Sat. Nov. 16 – Montreal, QC @ SAT Mon. Nov. 18 – Toronto, ON @ Longboat Hall Tue. Nov. 19 – Detroit, MI @ MOCAD Wed. Nov. 20 – Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall Fri. Nov. 22 – Los Angeles, CA @ Lodge Room Sat. Nov. 23 – Oakland, CA @ The New Parish Mon. Nov. 25 – Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom Tue. Nov 26 – Seattle, WA @ Neumos Wed. Nov. 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Venue

Keep your mind open.

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