Review Summary: Delightfully elegant and ethereal dream pop.
Take a deep breath. Now slowly let it out. It’s pretty impressive isn’t it? The biological potency of a simple prolonged exhalation? It has such an uncanny, unfailing ability to sink you into the deepest depths of your chair, quiet your restless mind, and blossom a profound sense of tranquility and stillness within. Now imagine if you could take a deep breath, and let it out for 45 minutes. That’s a bit like what listening to
Moon is like.
Snowbird is the brainchild of Simon Raymonde, former member of the now-defunct dream pop juggernaut the Cocteau Twins as well as founder and current head of the Bella Union record label (the home of numerous well-loved acts including Fleet Foxes, Beach House, and Explosions in the Sky). Although he’s been facilitating the release of beautiful music for 17 years since the label opened its doors in 1997, it’s also been that long since he’s shared his own compositional talent in any official capacity.
Well, that fire has once again ignited courtesy of singer/songwriter Stephanie Dosen, who happens to reside on Bella Union herself. Inspired by her angelic and ethereal vocal talents reminiscent of former Cocteau Twins vocalist Elizabeth Fraser, Raymonde has returned from his compositional hiatus in the form of Snowbird, a collaboration between the two artists with the intent of producing dream pop of the utmost delicacy and elegance.
And I’m happy to report that the two have resoundingly achieved that goal with their debut.
Moon is filled to the brim with delightfully creamy, effortless, and wistful tunes. Perhaps the most striking similarity between the music here and the late, great Twins is the approach to vocal arrangement. Dosen multi-tracks numerous harmonized vocal fragments and phrases to create a swirling, billowing effect not unlike Fraser’s own trademark multilayered and self-harmonized vocal style. Dosen’s vocals are of a much more fragile and airy variety though in contrast to Fraser’s powerful operatics and dynamism, which is just fine as it perfectly suits the musical intent and instrumentation here.
Speaking of the instrumentation, there honestly isn’t all that much to say about it. By design Dosen is the clear focal point and anchor of each song here with the instrumentation taking a firmly supportive role. But that’s not to say it doesn’t carry its own delicate beauty. The gentle piano, restrained acoustic and electric guitars and modest, sparse drumming definitely have their own subtle charm and work very effectively at providing a lush backdrop for Stephanie’s magical vocals.
It’s also worth noting that there’s definitely an ambient, droning quality to the music of
Moon, especially on a complete spin of the album. The majority of the songs here have a meandering, amorphous quality which creates a hazy, dreamlike state that persists for the majority of the album. There are definitely a few moments that break the status quo though, the opener for instance. “I Heard the Owl Call My Name” is much more immediate and up-tempo than the majority of album with a driving rhythm and bubbly, kaleidoscopic vocals. Similarly, the closer differentiates itself immediately as it opens with a synthetic beat which drives the song forward and gives it a sense of motion that is absent from most of the album.
Another notable moment is closing minute and a half of the of the second track “All Wishes Are Ghosts” which takes an abrupt and unexpected turn into a breathtakingly gorgeous and memorable vocal line that fades out to end the song. It’s a clear highlight of the album and makes me wish there were a few more moments as immediate and instantly-gratifying on the rest of the record.
By and large though, the ambient qualities of
Moon serve it quite well. The subdued and delicate instrumentation coupled with Dosen’s light and velvety vocals make for a lovely listening experience that is enough to sustain interest. It’s kind of like wandering aimlessly through a beautiful, quiet forest blanketed in snow. You may feel a bit directionless, but the scenery is so lovely that you’re really not in any hurry to find your way out.
