Moon Museum – With You (2021)
Melding elements of dream-pop, shoegaze and post-punk, US-based band Moon Museum bring the masses an eclectic and innovative sound. Forming a few years ago when duo Ryan Joseph (vocals, guitar and bass) and Ian Zazueta (lead guitar) reached out to Olivia Barchard (vocals and keys), Moon Museum was a sensation in the making. Add Aaron Hazen (drums) and you have a quartet unlike any dream-pop group I have heard this year.
The band emerged from 2020 with some singles set for release; however, the pandemic changed their plans. Instead, we find Moon Museum blasting onto the scene in 2021 with ‘Pleasures Of Peace’. While a relatively new band created by experienced musicians, Moon Museum is grabbing the attention of critics across the globe. Featured in Nexus Music Blog, YMX and FV Music Blog, the group is growing in popularity among various audiences. The latest addition to their discography is ‘With You’.
The follow-up to their debut single ‘Pleasures Of Peace’ (read our review here), ‘With You’ finds the balance between The Cardigans, Radiohead and The Cure. Immediately engulfing your senses with the hazy ambience, listening to the single is like falling beneath a perfumed cloud. The combination of dynamic guitars and pounding drums merge effortlessly with Barchard’s haunting vocals to create a moving melody.
The melody carries you along a trail of sound with swells into catchy choruses underlying powerful guitar riffs before descending into hushed verses; however, this is not what captures your soul. Yes, the instrumentation is overwhelming, but it is the merging with soft, otherworldly vocals that showcase Moon Museum’s versatility. Unlike their upbeat single ‘Pleasures Of Peace’, ‘With You’ is soothing and smooth with a kaleidoscopic, well-textured fuzziness…as I said, there is a perfumed cloud about your head. The thing is, you love it!
In addition to their single, Moon Museum released a lyric video for ‘With You’. Due to the excessive strobe effects that can cause seizures in people with photosensitive epilepsy, we will not post the video in this article. View it HERE at your own discretion.
For more from Moon Museum check out their Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.
