Labels: No Idea Records
Review by: Andy Malcolm
Moonraker was a great band, but not many people told you that. They didn’t even put that much stuff out, not that I can find anyway. With the ones on here, I now am in possession of a sum total of 4 Moonraker songs. And that’s simply not enough.
On the 3 songs here, the band have worked in influences of bands like Moss Icon and Native Nod / the Van Pelt into songs that spiral from calmness and spoken vocals, into driving, almost screamo, hardcore perhaps more reminiscent of Still Life. Just listen to the warm intro and guitars on “Accident Prone”, as the song carries you smoothly, unsuspectingly, into an unexpected explosion of a barrage of emotion and urgency before sliding back into relative stillness again. Crank up the volume, and the drumming will slay you. One of my absolute favouritest songs I’ve heard all year. Following that is “You Sank My Battleship Baby”, which kicks in with a chaotic swirling intro, before dragging it all down a few notches, then launching into surging power as necessary. “maybe it was a smile, maybe it was a smirk, maybe you’re laughing at me, maybe you’re laughing with me”.
“20 Minutes With Michael Kerney” resides on it’s own, side B, lonely, but refusing to surrender even an inch of transparent plastic to anyone nor anything else. I love long emo songs enough as it is, without them being this great. An epic journey across the Atlantic onboard an old sail boat, travelling east to west through blissful calm, only for the state to be shattered by the occasional storm that will eventually subside and wend it’s way over the horizon.
Awesome. Anyone know of any bands with ex-members of Moonraker in? *sigh*