ALBUM REVIEW: Blood Moon – Luna Waves
From his debut back in 2018, the well received Seafoam Dream (Part 1), LUNA WAVES returns with an even more expansive and decadent musical experience. Falling away from the part 2 title that was expected, the new record goes by the title of Blood Moon.
From the chilled, sparkling start of Dawn Choral, there’s definitely a nod to psychedelic electronica, and something of the weird and wonderful in it – think a happy DEPECHE MODE with a tinge of TAME IMPALA. This lush, dream pop experience has the unique feeling of the 90s EDM scene, with its nostalgic use of specific sound effects and vocal layering. That, topped with a mixture of chord progressions and cheerful guitar work that incorporates a nice amount of both fuzz and treble, results in a sound that feels fairly unique to LUNA WAVES in Blood Moon.
There’s a lot to delve into on this album, with 16 tracks on offer; if you’re into funk, groove and a solid amount of chilled out vibes there’s more than enough to take your fancy. While there are some who will find this a little too extensive and would prefer a more concentrated experience, there’s lots to enjoy when you allow tracks like Dream Inn with its PINK FLOYD and FATHER JOHN MISTY haze wash over you, or the more upbeat Time Capsule that digs a little more into the guitar driven side of LUNA WAVES sound.
There are a couple of tracks that do suffer from the length of the record, like Endless Summer, which is a fairly good track and is completely in keeping with the drippy, spaced out 90s feel of the record, but just feels a little samey. Likewise, Beach Bum is a lush, almost more 80s style summer jam, but it does suffer from the vocal tone being the same pitch and tone as many previous tracks. By not altering from what LUNA WAVES has offered already on this record, it starts to feel perhaps a little long and self-indulgent. That’s a little something to consider, all these tracks are roughly around the four-minute mark. While this normally works here and there on a regular ten-track album, with plenty of shorter tracks, these slightly extended runtimes make the album a little bloated.
That’s not to say that there aren’t pockets of appropriately long tunes. If SLOWDIVE and WILD NOTHING decided to make a track, it would probably sound like White Lotus, which is an instant thumbs up. There’s so much on offer from a one-man project; it might be that some tracks have a similar feel through them, but there’s definitely a distinct identity to many tracks. Sunny Side Down has a darker edge in its bright and splashy sounds and funky playing, while Cosmic Dust leans heavily into tape warped delay and chorus through its expansive melodies.
Cool As Ice Cream is also really distinct and has a sparkling, shuffling undertone while the guitars keep the feel relaxed. The end of the record does hold up as being more experimental with songs like Starcrossed, which is oddly reminiscent of tunes like Boys Of Summer and trance remixes of Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence.
LUNA WAVES has clearly been putting the work in since his debut record. With a mammoth 16 tracks to wade into, there are lush soundscapes and darkly veiled lyrics in Blood Moon. If you’re a fan of dream pop mixed with a little psychedelic rock and more than enough 90s EDM vibes, this will make for great summer listening.
Rating: 7/10
Blood Moon is out now via self-release.
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