Moon Duo’s ‘Escape’ album has been sitting for some time on my shelf of review titles unopened, not because of a lack of interest, but rather a lack of time. Ignoring the press sheet (which, after all, are only there to make you want to love the album) I finally cracked it open today with no expectations whatsoever (and actually no idea what type of music to expect) only to discover that this four-track, twenty-eight minute CD is thoroughly awesome. A highly psychedelic, disorientating trip into a world of repetitive guitars, soaring leads and echoing vocals it is up there with the fantastic releases by Grifter and 12 Black Rainbows we looked at earlier this month.
Opening with ‘motorcycle, I love you’, Moon Duo are a band who sit, somewhat uncomfortably, between the mind-bending experimentalism of early Sonic Youth, the mysticism of the Doors and the lengthy, progressive workouts of early Pink Floyd. Repetition is key here, with a single grinding riff underpinning the track, but over the top there is some truly inspired, organic guitar work that ripples over the surface of the track, while the barely-audible lyrics bubble away, just out of reach yet tantalisingly drawing you further into the melody in the hope of discovering their meaning. Having thoroughly re-arranged your grey matter with the first track, ‘In the trees’ is up next and it transpires to be a melodic, darkened trawl through an empty landscape: it’s like the soundtrack to an Oliver Stone road movie where nothing is quite as it should be and where the narrator is a faded rock and roll singer, modelled on Elvis but addicted to the twisted rock of Kyuss. It’s absolutely hypnotic and a work of marijuana-addled genius that needs to be heard to be appreciated – a review can only do it so much justice.
‘Stumbling 22nd St’ , the third track on this blessed out, fuzz rock trip, carries with it the spirit of Iggy Pop, Velvet underground and Pink Floyd routed through the warped sense of Nick Cave. Buried under a perpetual layer of mild distortion, there’s melody to be found in the rich, warm layers of fuzz and, as on the other tracks, the guitar playing shines through as it trickles over the droning organ and hidden vocals. Final track, ‘Escape, completes the trip with a burst of phaser that allows the vocals to rise, just a little, in the murk while the guitar, if possible, sounds even spacier than ever.
Like many releases on this site Moon Duo probably aren’t for everyone – certainly metal heads will be turned off by the acid-soaked meanderings contained within ‘escape’, but for those with a taste for twisted space rock that echoes the sound of Hawkwind, Pink Floyd, Kyuss and many other such seminal acts, then Escape will be your poison of choice – a flawlessly executed, intelligent trip into a different realm where the music picks you up and takes you for a ride into unimagined pastures. Short, but that’s only a problem in that it leaves you thirsting for more, Escape is a beautiful, stoned masterpiece.
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