This is psych, but it is futuristic psych. Like imagine that hippie commune but everyone is seeing it through VR. They’re not free inside their bodies, but they are in the digital world. They are free to be whoever and whatever they want. The old acid-man with the Gandalf beard/tie-dye tee combo can be a unicorn or an anime character if he so pleases. It’s pretty neat.
A lot of psychedelic music is stuck on the occult or lost in dreaminess, Moon Duo have stepped away from that, toward something with more light. In short, they’ve ripped the essence of the sixties and mixed it with 90s rave and dance scenes.
At this record’s core is dance. In beat and in reference to the body, the expression of yourself, your emotions and your energy through movement is important throughout. The songs are all disco in a way, encouraging you to pop a few shapes. And like a good ol’ disco, they represent a place where a community can get together and express their personalities and what makes them them.
In many ways, the record reflects the coded world referenced above in this topic. In a purely digital, online existence, emotion-through-interpretation, like dance, would be quite normal. We’d stylise ourselves as a concept in 1s and 0s, our personality would be pictures and videos, emojis and gif-style movements. Our life spirit would become a sort of dance of symbols. It’s not really too far from Instagram and Facebook really.
Anyway, back to the tracks, they are all above the 4-minute mark which is good in my book. They lay down a path and rhythm, and usually, don’t stray too far. Going track-to-track there’s a vibrant contrast, some include the kind of chant-y and reverb-y lyrics you’d expect usually, others are full digital squeaks and melodies. Either way, you’re never bored but surprisingly experience a whole range of emotions.
Ultimately, when you have a genre where breaking convention is actually the convention of the genre, and bands all begin to blur, it is welcome to see such a fresh cut. Although the future and the internet scares me, I want to dance and let loose every once in a while, and if there’s a psych-band I can play at a house party and not destroy the mood then quality, let’s have ‘em.
Haiku Review:
Hippies on VR,
Go online and be yourself,
We don’t give a shit,
Listen to Moon Duo on Spotify and Apple Music.
