Moon Duo - Escape

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5...according to our Brett on Thu 11 Feb, 2010.

I'm a bit skeptical with the old Wooden Shjips. I saw them live once and they were terrifyingly tedious. Most of their recorded output does very little for me although I do like some bits of Volume 1. So it's a bit of a surprise how impressed I am by this new one from offshoot band Moon Duo, especially since the apple's fallen so close to the tree that it might as well still be fully attached to it. It's still space rock with a contradictorily earthy feel and the basic formula of 'The Doors meets Suicide' droney repeato rock remains exactly the same but it seems like they've finally nailed the technique, knowing when to keep pushin' on and when to change up in order to keep the interest going for us, the twitchy listeners. A mere chord change or the addition of an unhinged solo feels like a seismic shift in the context of one of these extended riff-outs. The final track does change the focus somewhat to my ears, with a greater emphasis on the percussion that brings a kind of Neu-goes-Americana feel to things. In any case I have no qualms about declaring this to be the best release to have come from this group of musicians so far, something everyone else in here seemed to agree with when I suggested it on the first listen. The lads at Woodsist have chosen a good time to pick them up.

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San Francisco s Moon Duo was formed in 2009 by Sanae Yamada and Erik Johnson (Wooden Shjips). Inspired initially by the legendary John Coltrane and Rashied Ali, Moon Duo counts such variant groups as Silver Apples, Royal Trux, Moolah, Suicide, and Cluster as touchstones.Utilizing primarily guitar, keyboards, percussion, and vocals,the pair plays space against form to create a primordial and disorienting sonic stew. They released two acclaimed records in 2009: the Love on the Sea 12-inch single on Sick Thirst and the Killing Time EP on Sacred Bones. Escape,their debut long-player on Woodsist, marks the fullest realization yet of the young group s evolving sound. Moon Duo are the combined forces of Wooden Shjips Erik Johnson and Sanae Yamada, and following a couple of singles this year, they re releasing a debut full-length on Woodsist in2010. Stumbling 22nd St., a gauzy, lo-fi rock number built on a repetitive riff, goes on for nearly seven minutes and presents a pretty epic introduction to this band. .
Wooden Shjips have a new singles compilation out in March, tour in April, Moon Duo are going to release a bunch more 7"s over the next few months! And a uk /eu tour in the late summer. a busy year for Mr Johnson!

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