Review | Brendon Moon – Brendon Moon

Label: Self-released

The Sydney, Australia based artist has recently releases his self-titled debut album. It’s a daring collection of blissful harmonies arranged around dreamy folk sounds.

Brendon’s ethereal and androgynous vocals play perfectly with the softly plucked guitar, almost dueting with it. The drums play perfectly for each song as well. In songs such as ‘These Cold Nights’, the drums sit back and just have a subtle beat to let the song breathe, other times (‘Girl’ for example) the drums will drive the song. At times complicated, the drum beats never detract from the song, more adding to the sound and giving it more breadth.

The core of each song is the kind of soft guitar and vocals that the like of Phoebe Bridges and Keaton Henson have been excelling at over the years. With Brendon Moon however, the addition of drums and bass leads to making a fuller sound and makes each track more interesting. Opener ‘Forest’, for example, starts with a beautifully plucked riff and Brendon’s soft vocals but it’s when the drums fade in that the track takes on new life. You can practically feel the waves lapping at the shore as you soak in the sun on a beach.

‘Patience’ sees the drums lead the track like a chugging train with the guitars and bass floating beautifully over the top. Brendon’s haunting vocals float over the top of the track with a beautiful take on relationships and how a couple needs to be patient with each other and put in the work.

From the Fleet Foxes style of ‘Patience’, ‘Missing You’ rolls in with almost a country feel to it. While the lyrics tell you the story very plainly, it’s all about Brendon’s voice with a beautiful chorus that you will find yourself trying to harmonise with if you can manage to get your voice to the same range.

Both ‘I Don’t’ and ‘These Cold Nights’ see the drummer sitting back and letting Brendon’s songs swim around your ears. Each song, even though they are about losing your love, manages to create an intimacy that feels good in these winter months.

Although Brendon Moon’s self titled album is only 8 songs long, he manages to take you on a journey and keep each song interesting. The singer-songwriter background is obvious and gives each song a solid core, allowing the drummer and bassist to bring them alive.

‘Blue Moon’ is the perfect finisher to the album. It meanders along with a beautiful melody before building up to a big crescendo with the distorted guitar feeling like a giant wave looming over you. It doesn’t lose any of the beautiful tune either as the guitar builds up. It just envelops you and leaves you mesmerised. It’s a fitting end to an album that is a real journey.