Artist: Moonlight Sky
Label: Nika Records
Release: 2006
We all know Slovenia has no shortage of quality bands, but thanks to the greedy policies of labels and retailers alike, fewer and fewer of them are putting out records and looking after their own visibility. Thank goodness we’ve got small, alternative labels that actually give a damn and would rather release a handful of records a year (instead of a hundred), and good ones at that (instead of a pile of garbage)! If only people would retrain themselves and start buying CDs again (this is where the greedy retailers come in, making sure our prices are on par with European ones here too) and support the creativity of Slovenian bands that way.
Moonlight Sky deserve a different kind of intro, of course, and I could have just written – THE RECORD IS EXCELLENT! GO TO THE STORE AND BUY IT. Why?
Because of the first track, ‘Lunin svit’? A keys-and-guitar intro that grows into a flawless guitar riff, picks up a bit of a funky flavor from the keyboards, and serves up a gorgeous instrumental interplay of guitar, keys, and bass. Because of the punchy opener ‘Angel’? Excellent keyboard transitions, guitars backed by drums, then playful keys and virtuoso bass runs, and a finish with some vocal play that recalls Ian Gillan in ‘Child in Time’.
Two songs, two excellent reasons. And we haven’t even got to the best yet!!!
‘Rigg’s Family Shot’ is a bit more bluesy, the guitars and keys complement each other beautifully, and the virtuoso instrumental passages, accents, and breaks put it in the category of the great ones. ‘Pluton’ is instrumental and looks back to the seventies, with both its guitar riff and keyboards – short and hypnotic. ‘Devet osem’ clearly shows the mighty influence on Moonlight Sky’s music – the legendary Macedonian band Leb i sol. Slightly tribal-flavored drums, some keys for a colorful backdrop, and virtuoso guitar, the whole rhythm section, and of course a dynamic, varied, virtuoso structure from start to finish! Definitely one of the three big highlights on the record.
‘Ocean’ is… hm, I’ll mention just one of the best and most complex songs of all time – Pink Floyd’s ‘Shine on Your Crazy Diamond’. A heavenly, filigree combination of keys, guitar, drums, bass, rhythmic shifts, and constant building, layering, and weaving… the kind of song we can only wish for, and the kind that bands today, especially young ones, sadly don’t write. With shining exceptions, of course!
‘Štirje svetovi’ is an extremely varied song, where a combination of guitar and keys dominates at first, then just drums for a short while, a shift into something different and very keyboard-driven, which toward the end gets enriched by solo guitar excursions. A magnificent musical journey! ‘How Much?’ is one of the simplest and most classically minded rock songs on the record – a simple, classic drum pattern with a guitar riff leaning on it, keys spicing things up and giving them some movement, an inevitable guitar solo on top, and that’s it. But don’t take that as “just that,” because with Moonlight Sky even “that” is a whoooole lot.
And then the closer, ‘The Groove’… different again, interesting again. The guitar succumbs to effects, the keys-and-bass combo is very bluesy, and so is the voice, then the guitar, with its virtuosity and unexpected build-up, recalls Jimi Hendrix, and there’s no shortage of more of Gillan’s vocal acrobatics either.
Served up in small doses, but as a whole it sounds mighty and majestic. That goes for parts of individual songs as well as for the songs themselves, and I’ll be waiting for their next record with joy and impatience. I think we’ve got a band that can become truly BIG!
Lineup
Andraž Kržič – vocals, keyboards
Miha Petric – guitar
Janez Moder – bass guitar
Bor Zakonjšek – drums
Track list
1. Lunin svit
2. Angel
3. Rigg’s Family Shot
4. Pluton
5. Devet osem
6. Ocean
7. Štirje svetovi
8. How Much?
9. The Groove
