The smartest move Moon Duo ever made was the addition of drummer John Jeffrey. In a live setting, acoustic drums are always going to have the edge over mechanised gonzo beats and so, in the process, Moon Duo have become less of a Wooden Shjips side project and more a band that has overtaken it antecedents. What they’ve come to realise is that it’s all down to the groove, and once you’ve got that down then everyone gets down. And tonight Moon Duo mine a groove so deep it’s a wonder they don’t reappear in Australia while bringing up one technicolour nugget after another.
Performing in front of a circular screen showing hypnotic, psychedelic imagery, it quickly becomes apparent that Moon Duo have stepped up to the next level. Current album Occult Architecture Vol 1 is their most fully realised to date, and those pulsing beats, metronomic throbs and Ripley Johnson’s creamily wah-wah’ed guitar aim straight for the feet as much as for the head.
The Death Set and Creepin’ provide an instant lift thanks to precision and flight, but it’s with the 10-minute White Rose that Moon Duo truly hit their stride with minimalist bass lines, motorik propulsion and six-string intervention.
A mesmerising performance of rhythmic psychedelia, Moon Duo are in an orbit of their own.
