Moon Duo are comprised of San Francisco-based singer/guitarist Ripley Johnson and keyboardist Sanae Yamada. The duo are back again for the band’s fourth release entitled ‘Circles’. Moon Duo is an eclectic and curious beast blending catchy repetitive melodies and hypnotic grooves with fuzz guitar. According to Moon Duo‘s website the ‘inspiration for many of the songs themes, as well as the title ‘Circles’, came from Ralph Waldo Emerson’s 1841 essay by the same name, on the symbol and nature of “the flying Perfect.” Like a circle that is forever changing, so is the sound of Moon Duo.
The analogy of the circle fits well with the looping melodies Johnson layers his dirty guitar over. His guitar often feels like a voice calling out over the cauldron of bubbling musical madness beneath beckoning you to trip into his delicious psychedelic soundscape. Some listeners may find this album too repetitive, and some mind-numbingly so, especially on the 8 minute plus ‘Rolling Out’. However, if you allow yourself, this same repetition can waft you along an intoxicating journey to a post-psych paradise.
Johnson’s vocals are always slow and steady with an understated soothing effect. They melt into the mix coating songs with a sweet-sounding veneer. A few songs (‘Sleepwalker’ and ‘Trails’) have Sanae Yamada pairing her wispy vocal duties with Johnson’s with impressive results. It is a shame they don’t sing together on more songs, the contrasting tonality is quite alluring. The song melodies are simple, addictive, accessible and cleaner than on previous Moon Duo material. The harshest sounding song is the up tempo ‘I Been Gone’ which has Johnson’s guitar flirting with chaos but never actually getting there. By contrast, the song ‘Circles’ is a bright catchy surf pop-esque track. Moon Duo certainly refine and explore their sound on this release with admirable results.
You should allow yourself a few listens to Circles before passing judgement on this album. After a few listens of Circles I was happily floating along to the Duo’s psychedelic sojourn. The album has a hypnotically addictive nature, pure musical MSG. Just try turning it off. One line stood out from Emerson’s essay ‘Circles’ which encapsulates the album ‘Circles’ nicely : “He smites and arouses me with his shrill tones, breaks up my whole chain of habits, and I open my eye on my own possibilities.”
Out now on Souterrain Transmissions.
Posted by Dave Guzda.
