Music Review: Moon Duo, Shadow Of The Sun

By Less Lee Moore

Although they’ve been releasing music since 2009, I only became turned on to Moon Duo recently. Their fetching single “Animal,” and its hilarious video, quickly won me over. Yet Shadow Of The Sun opens with the minimalist, psychedelic wash of “Wilding,” full of Hammond organs and tambourines. The jewel-toned guitars throughout add a bit of recklessness to an otherwise fairly straightforward drone.

The next few songs continue in this manner: establish a repetitive beat, work it work it work it, and then throw in a guitar solo. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, because these particular beats are pretty good, but it does tend to grate after about ten minutes without any choruses or bridges to break things up.

It’s not until the fifth song that Moon Duo establishes a different pattern, albeit one that’s sort of a slowed-down version of the previous tracks. Still, it does provide a nice sonic respite. “In A Cloud” is a title befitting of the dreamy feel of the song, with ghostly background vocals courtesy of Sanae Yamada. Ripley Johnson’s delicate guitar feels more at home within the parameters of this sonic template. There’s one more unhurried track (“Thieves”) and then it’s back to the original formula for two more tracks until “Animal.”

I kept thinking that if I just kept listening to the album over and over some heretofore hidden appeal would reveal itself. It’s happened before with other bands, but with Shadow Of The Sun, that moment never arrived. It’s a pity. “Animal” is an inventive tune (and interestingly, the shortest one on the whole album) and if the band were going to release an album full of the same thing, I would have preferred eight more songs like that one. For those who like a lot of repetition in their psychedelia, Moon Duo is for you.

Shadow Of The Sun was released on March 3 via Sacred Bones.

Tour Dates:
Fri. Mar. 6 – Montreal, QC @ Le Ritz
Sat. Mar. 7 – Boston, MA @ Great Scott
Mon. Mar. 9 – Brooklyn, NY @ Rough Trade
Tue. Mar. 10 – Philadelphia, PA @ Boot & Saddle
Wed. Mar. 11 – Baltimore, MD @ Metro Gallery
Thu. Mar. 12 – Asheville, NC @ The Mothlight
Fri. Mar. 13 – Atlanta, GA @ 529
Sat. Mar. 14 – Memphis, TN @ Hi-Tone
Sun. Mar. 15 – Dallas, TX @ City Tavern
Sat. Mar. 21 – Tucson, AZ @ Flycatcher
Sun. Mar. 22 – Santa Ana, CA @ Constellation Room
Tue. Mar. 24 – Los Angeles, CA @ Los Globos
Wed. Mar. 25 – San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Fri. Mar. 27 – Vancouver, BC @ Biltmore Cabaret w/ Craft Spells
Sat. Mar. 28 – Portland, OR @ Mississippi Studios
Wed. April 8 – Manchester, UK @ Islington Mill
Thu. April 9 – Brighton, UK @ The Haunt
Fri. April 10 – Paris, FR @ La Machine Du Moulin Rouge
Sat. April 11 – Bordeaux, FR @ Bootleg
Sun. April 12 – San Sebastian, ES @ Dabadaba
Tue. April 14 – Madrid, ES @ El Sol
Wed. April 15 – Barcelona, ES @ Almo2Bar
Thu. April 16 – Lyon, FR @ Le Marché Gare
Fri. April 17 – Turin, IT @ Spazio 211
Sat. April 18 – Zurich, CH @ Bogen
Mon. April 20 – Munich, DE @ Kranhalle
Tue. April 21 – Berlin, DE @ SO36
Wed. April 22 – Copenhagen, DK @ Stengade
Thu. April 23 – Hamburg, DE @ Molotow
Fri. April 24 – Amsterdam, NL @ Paradiso
Sat. April 25 – Brussels, BE @ Botanique
Mon. April 27 – Birmingham, UK @ The Hare & Hound
Tue. April 28 – Bristol, UK @ The Exchange
Wed. April 29 – Leeds, UK @ Left Bank
Thu. April 30 – London, UK @ Village Underground
Fri. May 1 – Dublin, IE @ Workmans Club
Sat. May 2 – Letterkenny, IE @ Distorted Perspective Festival
Sun. May 3 – Glasgow, UK @ Live at Glasgow
Mon. May 4 – Liverpool, UK @ The Kazimer