Moonwood

'Desert Ghosts' (album stream)

BY Alan RantaPublished Nov 4, 2015

Like Moon Duo hopped up on pure wormwood extract, the Toronto-based improv space-rock outfit known as Moonwood have plucked another full-length jewel from the ether. Drawing on a cornucopia of worldly throwback psychedelic influences from the Middle East, Asia and Germany, Desert Ghosts is a relentless assault on your psyche, bound to blow your consciousness out the back of your skull and into a kaleidoscope of interdimensional possibilities.

With the LP set for release as a joint venture between Pleasence Records and Arachnidiscs Recordings, the first half of Desert Ghosts is noted as "Earthbound desert rock," a voyage through the deserts of the American West with fuzz rock and cosmic surf grounded by motorik rhythms, and the second half is a "Trans Arrakis Express" suite, signifying the arrival on the fictional desert planet from Frank Herbert's famed 1965 sci-fi novel Dune. The change in sound is audible; the first half propelled by frontman Jakob Rehlinger's incendiary guitar and Luca Capone's impertinent drums, while the second half is more meditative and mystical, featuring more of bassist Matt Fava's violin. Both sides are united by filtered synth drones and Jacqueline Noire's mesmerizing vocals.

If you live in the Toronto area, be sure to hit up Moonwood's Desert Ghosts album release party on November 6. Otherwise, you can pick up the album on November 5, and stream the far out bastard below right now, lest your mind remain unblown.

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