Oceans Of The Moon – Oceans Of The Moon

Castle Face

I had a real soft spot for the slightly psychotic electro-punk disco dust-up of Six Finger Satellite and was sorry when they called it a day both times, so it is good to hear that Rick Pelletier is back on the scene with Dare Matheson and Jon Loper, both of whom helped out with the band the second time around. Oceans Of The Moon isn’t just Six Finger Satellite re-visited though, and the eight tracks here churn up all sorts of musical mayhem that nods as much to the live pummel of scuzzy rock as it does to their punk rock Tron output.

It feels as though the three members are stamping individual ideas onto the overall sound produced here. Live drums interact with harsh, modernist guitars on opener “Hope Will Pass”, while spooky electronic effects cause an unusual maelstrom on the background. The familiar feral yelp of the vocals ties it in to its lineage. There is oodles of space on “Baby Chiffon”, but the players are all subtly pulling in different directions; the drums are deft, there are ludicrous space effects and there is something in the background akin to gargling. It is too slow for disco and a little too odd for electronica, but is still somehow groovy — even though it surprises with the amount and sound of the guitar.

There is a touch of Suicide on “Sully”, but it also has cowbells and a middle eight that confounds expectations, while “I’m On A Roll” has slow crawling guitars scattered with fairground electronics and vocals that are piped through air-conditioning vents from another room. The howling guitars and the purposeful electronic drift are like different masks of the same band, or different hats as they are whipped on and off, depending on how they feel the noise produced should be consumed.

“Borderline”! is like a garden full of unusual insects that you wouldn’t expect to see together all vying for attention over a tasty drum pattern, while the vocal duet on the eastern-tinged “Bill Fill” sounds as though each vocalist had no idea that they weren’t the only one laying down the words. The meshing of harsh static guitars and amorphous electronics on “Shazzamatazz” is great, but doesn’t prepare you for the psychedelic blow out of “Blowin’ My Mind” that ends the album. The repetitive Suicide mantra is abused wholeheartedly by the rest of the group as they chase it to its illogical conclusion and the players collapse, panting but fulfilled.

I am really hoping that there is more in the tank for Oceans Of The Moon, because judging by this it will be a wild ride.

-Mr Olivetti-