Shadow of the Sun

Beginning with an instant burst of energy, this Moon Duo record was looking hopeful. The first track of their album Shadow Of The Sun is relatively upbeat, a song to play while getting ready to go out. Straight from the off there is a pattern of repetition that lingers across the whole album, with slick, sophisticated production. The album is a nice wash of heavy guitar effects, almost too heavy, with repeating drum patterns fused with electro-synthesiser style noise.

One of the outstanding features that extends across the album is the vocals – barely there, almost blending in with the background noise, but all the while intriguing. In tone and accent, Ripley Johnson reminds me very much of Luke Steele, frontman of Empire of the Sun. In terms of vocal effects, think shoegaze band DIIV. In all honesty, most of the songs up until ‘In A Cloud’ sound rather similar and all blend into one. But that changes when suddenly scratchy sounds and a more distinguishable guitar are introduced to create a dream-like, hazy song. I felt like I could go to sleep, in a good way. My only bad word against the song would be the way the guitar solo is awkwardly placed in the middle, but I guess it's a matter of personal preference.

After ‘In A Cloud’, the pace picks up, presumably to keep the listener awake. And they do a good job of doing so, too.

In conclusion, it’s a very mysterious, interesting adventure of a record.