Spring has come and with it the second in Portland, Oregon pairing Moon Duo’s brace of albums celebrating the forces of darkness and light.
Comprising guitarist Ripley Johnson and keyboardist Sanae Yamada, Moon Duo’s latest is an “intricately woven hymn to the invisible structures found in the cycle of seasons”. It is, in other words, a load of vacuous hippie bollocks but that does not, nor ever has, precluded the possibility of good sounds.
In that regard, Occult Architecture is pleasing enough, if a little deodorised at times. On New Dawn, dewdrops of synthesiser give way to the strong push of a Loopstyle guitar attack, while the sunblessed shuffle of Mirror’s Edge reminds one of Steve Hillage. Meanwhile, Sevens and Lost Light are a joss-sticked-up Velvets, and The Crystal World proceeds in linear, Krautrock style over green plains to a sunny horizon.
Beats a wet February…
