Irish producer Jack Colleran delivers mournful nocturnes on his first full-length under the MMOTHS moniker. Luneworks undergoes a delicate deconstruction as beautiful songs are shaped from seemingly ugly sounds; compositions crumble under the weight of distortion lent by an obvious affinity for shoegaze, while unclear vocals weave a tale of heartbreak.
The album is dominated by static-y soundscapes: lead singles "Eva" and "Deu" use dissonant textures to form complex rhythms, and though most of the lyrics are lost through blurred vocals, their soulful essence is retained. First song "You" feeds a glitchy croon into a furnace of feedback, "Para Polaris" reveals itself through echoing wails and "Body Studies" swells with a sense of urgency. The two-part closer "Naoko" resembles a broken music box, unspooling a warped melody. Everything is cast over slight, delicate beats.
And yet, Luneworks is not a lulling listen; rather, the album seems to turn restlessly with sonic insomnia, the songs tracing the arc of some sleepless passage like a night plagued by intense longing.
(Because)The album is dominated by static-y soundscapes: lead singles "Eva" and "Deu" use dissonant textures to form complex rhythms, and though most of the lyrics are lost through blurred vocals, their soulful essence is retained. First song "You" feeds a glitchy croon into a furnace of feedback, "Para Polaris" reveals itself through echoing wails and "Body Studies" swells with a sense of urgency. The two-part closer "Naoko" resembles a broken music box, unspooling a warped melody. Everything is cast over slight, delicate beats.
And yet, Luneworks is not a lulling listen; rather, the album seems to turn restlessly with sonic insomnia, the songs tracing the arc of some sleepless passage like a night plagued by intense longing.