Lo Moon is a Los Angeles-based band that possesses a haunting melancholy that pervades their debut record. With the help of stellar producers, including founding Death Cab for Cutie member Chris Walla, the band imbue a carefully put together sense of delicacy and anticipation from the album's first notes; single "This Is It" grows into a dramatic chorus before toning back down into a pensive groove.
Meshing electronic, pop, and alternative influences, the group balance minimalism and grandiose instrumental flourishes, heard in tracks such as "The Right Thing." Vocalist Matt Lowell exercises smooth control in his delivery, allowing for a clear, earnest performance on "Thorns" that makes it undoubtedly one of the album's core tracks, its lovely melody, steady rhythm and washes of synths encompassing the listener. Bass lines and drums that recall early Massive Attack provide the backdrop to "My Money," a song that builds in a way that nearly overwhelms before dialling back to the sparsest of instrumentation.
This is Lo Moon's biggest strength: they layer their music right up until the breaking point, before exercising swift control. This self-titled debut exhibits a breadth of musical styles, the synth-pop of "Wonderful Life" moving into the cinematic ode to love, "All In." The atmosphere of Lo Moon, which melds gloom with instrumental experimentation and a welcome pop sensibility, has gifted listeners with a record that stands apart. It's got a glow all its own.
(Columbia)Meshing electronic, pop, and alternative influences, the group balance minimalism and grandiose instrumental flourishes, heard in tracks such as "The Right Thing." Vocalist Matt Lowell exercises smooth control in his delivery, allowing for a clear, earnest performance on "Thorns" that makes it undoubtedly one of the album's core tracks, its lovely melody, steady rhythm and washes of synths encompassing the listener. Bass lines and drums that recall early Massive Attack provide the backdrop to "My Money," a song that builds in a way that nearly overwhelms before dialling back to the sparsest of instrumentation.
This is Lo Moon's biggest strength: they layer their music right up until the breaking point, before exercising swift control. This self-titled debut exhibits a breadth of musical styles, the synth-pop of "Wonderful Life" moving into the cinematic ode to love, "All In." The atmosphere of Lo Moon, which melds gloom with instrumental experimentation and a welcome pop sensibility, has gifted listeners with a record that stands apart. It's got a glow all its own.