Word of mouth is a great way to find new music, but it only works if your ears are open, and you dig in and do the groundwork that is. Fret not dear reader!!! that is what I, your fearless scribe is here for!! I got you as they say. I shall endeavour to scribble down a map to guide you…or some other complete bollox like that…
On my quest down to the deepest debts of the underground (stretching the metaphor to absolute breaking point) I discovered this band purely by chance (if trawling through every entry on the Doom Charts counts as chance)
The name caught my eye first. “They watch us from the Moon” is way more intriguing than wizard this, witch that, or mammoth something. The artwork not so much, being a throwaway space illustration which in fairness ties in with the overall theme.
Their debut album reveals a serious pulp 50’s and 60’s sci-fi obsession. The band themselves look like they raided George Clinton and Funkadelic’s more acid inspired wardrobe choices, which leaves them in the curious position of resembling a collection of Star trek Villains. Not sure if it’s them wallowing in arch irony or cosplay run riot in the dressing up box, either way its eye caching. That’s all good and well but what of the music?
They describe it as, Cosmic Doom Opera, which may be slightly over egging the omelette. However, on first listen, for the most part its great. “On the fields of the moon” kicks in with some nice riffing and harmony guitar but it’s the twin vocals of the wonderfully named Luna Nemesis and Nova 101001 that elevate it above the run of the mill Space Rock pack. The songs are on the lengthy side. The shortest being 6.24 but these two singers have enough skill to create an atmosphere of motion.
Second track “Space Angel” just doesn’t quite land right. It meanders without any real destination; However, they pull the listener back in to their orbit with “Mother of all Bastards” They continue to redeem themselves with the last two tracks. “Creeper A.D.” and “Return to Earth” is when the band get to stretch out. Clocking in at over ten minutes each. The music has the space and room to throw in some new sounds such as retro organ that compliments the guitars without being intrusive. “Return to Earth especially has Epic fused into its D.N.A. giving it a dense, wide scope sound.
As a body of work, it sounds huge and really flows bar the one weakish track. The music may be generally at one pace (slow) but is loaded with enough hooks to pull me in and keep me listening. The band are tight and play in the pocket somehow managing to balance on a tightrope between accessible and heavy easily. The vocals recall Alice in Chains in the weaving voices and soaring melodies. The selling point and attraction to this album is without argument these stellar vocals.
They haven’t quite reached the upper stratosphere with this debut, but they have launched successfully and made first contact. I will be interested to see how the sci-fi theme is developed in both their live show and future releases. If their songs can match their obvious talent and ambition, who knows what new worlds they can reach.
One to watch for sure.
-Bobo Coen
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