ALBUM REVIEW: Return Without Any Memory – Sonic Moon
Alongside Ribe and Hedeby, the picturesque city of Aarhus is one of the oldest and second largest in Denmark. Looking out over the Bay of Aarhus, the city has a rich musical history, most notably with jazz, as it was a hotspot for touring American jazz musicians due to its plethora of jazz clubs. Despite its scenic beauty, deep in its depths lurk SONIC MOON, a stoner band fuelled by their shared loneliness, anger and frustration.
Describing themselves as the product of “Kevin Starrs meeting Josh Homme on an acid trip in the dark Scandinavian winter”, their sound is one that is drenched in fuzz and delay yet packed with groove and rich textural atmospheres. Lyrically SONIC MOON have a penchant for exploring nihilism, sorrow and anger, those emotions that consume the light and reveal your darkest despairs set to the backdrop of melancholic and hypnotic riffs and melodies. The quintet have begun to make a name for themselves in the Danish underground and they return with their debut album Return Without Any Memory.
The album follows 2019’s Usually I Don’t Care For Flowers EP which is an equally entrancing yet surprisingly punchy foray into the world of melancholy. Yet Return Without Any Memory sees Jeppe Rasmussen (guitar), Niclas Fritz Sørensen (bass), Emil Klinkby (drums), Oliver Lyngkilde (vocals) and Emil Damgaard Andersen (guitar) venture into slower, grungier territory with some added poignance to their lyrics.
SONIC MOON possess a natural ability to create music that is deeply meditative and mesmerising. The mid-range fuzz that soaks the guitar riffs hits on a frequency that remarkably calms and relaxes you. Whether that is intentional or not is another thing but with these thick riffs being supported by steadily hypnotic grooves and gentle guitar leads, Lyngkilde’s introspective lyrics and enchanting vocal melodies are given the space to really shine through.
One striking aspect of Return Without Any Memory is its gritty soulfulness; there is a tangible set of emotions at the core of this album that progressively moves you as the album runs its course. The restless ebbing and flowing of the riffs and melodies feels like an unsettled sea, you’re swept off in its melancholic current. It’s interesting to see a stoner album really channel solemn and sombre vibes, it’s a completely different musical journey than you’ll be used to but equally as fascinating. As lucid imagery is conjured up in your imagination, there is an unfamiliar strangeness that blurs them all together which feels paradoxically calm and uneasy simultaneously.
Even with the more melancholic aspects of the album, Return Without Any Memory has a surprising amount of colour to it. You can tell SONIC MOON have spent their years together refining and honing their sound to deliver the perfect balance of thought-provoking emotion with powerful, impactful riffs. As a result, you get this unique vibrancy that straddles the lines between deep psychedelia and earthy, fuzzy desert rock. This debut feels like it has been in the making for a while, and now it has finally come to fruition it shines a light on SONIC MOON’s subtly nuanced approach to stoner rock.
The Waters opens the album with a slow shuffle before giving way to a deep, robust riff. Lyngkilde’s vocals enter with a soulful grittiness that sets the tone for the rest of the album, alongside SONIC MOON’s use of bluesy undertones. Tying Up The Noose captures the band’s penchant for frustration and anger. Here they ramp up the doomy riffs with wonderful efficiency, adding a darkness to the song that is foreboding and all consuming. Lead single Give It Time opens up with a BLACK SABBATH-ish use of devil’s tritones before progressing into a dark, psychedelic and groove filled track.
Through The Snow feels like a flowery interlude before the second half of the album begins. Heavy on the psychedelics, its gentle, hypnotic nature offers a moment of calmness before the fuzz comes back in. Head Under The River returns to fuzz-soaked glory and erupts into a swirling cacophony of riffs before mellowing out towards the end. Distant is the stand-out track on the album as it just gets everything right; from its dual guitar riffing and full-bodied grooves to its catchy vocal chorus hooks, it’s a perfect heavy psych song. Hear Me Now closes the album in a similar vein to Distant, but more chilled out – a gentle finish to a thought-provoking album.
SONIC MOON’s debut LP is an interesting and intriguing one; it’s one of those albums that you’ll have to sit and quietly experience. Equally thought-provoking and groove-filled, Return Without Any Memory is a well put together album that highlights the Danish quintet’s nuanced songwriting brilliantly. They have struck a distinct balance between earthy riffs and melancholic psychedelia that stays with you.
Rating: 8/10
Return Without Any Memory is set for release on August 4th via Olde Magick Records.
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