The Soft Moon, for those of you who are unaware, is anything but soft. Started in 2009 by Luis Vasquez, the band has successfully worked to capture certain sad and otherwise dreadful feelings and turn them into an experience. To continue this pursuit of sadness, Vasquez has prepared another album titled, Deeper.
Deeper is some sort of dark masterpiece, delving into the more depressive side of the human spirit. The album crosses beyond just being depressing but almost comes complete with some sort of absurdist-nihlistic perspective –that perfectly matches the krautrock like style. The Soft Moon pairs their most haunting instrumental melodies, with honest and raw lyrics.
Fans of The Soft Moon may recognize that, perhaps in some ways, Deeper really goes deeper into Vasquez. Often, the vocals are more pristine and more passionate. Furthermore, some of the tracks take their time to drone out, while others get noisier. There’s a certain artistic twist that feels more genuine. In this way, the album distinguishes itself by sounding more honest and more real.
While the overall ambiance of Deeper is clearly a bit gloomy, The Soft Moon manages to span various styles which helps keeps things fresh throughout the duration of the album. For example, the third track, “Far,” contrasts drastically with the fifth track, “Wrong.” While the former delivers a bassy melody driven by an attention stealing tempo, the latter is a very synth-laden tune. “Far” features more beat and tired lyrics, whereas “Wrong” is rebellious with lines like, “I’m in control of my own existence.” By covering either side of the coin, the band stays interesting.
Paying respect to the dissenting opinion, The Soft Moon doesn’t actually do anything new for the genres as a whole, nor does the band toss out anything genuinely groundbreaking. Realistically, the only thing Deeper has going for it is a consistent delivery of solid songs. This leaves the album in limbo, sitting between really fantastic and old news.
The album finishes off with a few less than memorable but certainly great songs, such as “Feel.” The track fuses both the guitar lines and electronic instrumental effects. Although the track does nothing to stand out, it feels so rightly placed within the album, as if a combination of everything you’ve heard thus far. Ultimately, it stands as a testament to how well composed Deeper is. The album plays out like a story, with a rightfully placed beginning and end –each song leading carefully into the next.
Even if The Soft Moon didn’t invent the genre, based on Deeper it sounds like they may as well have perfected it. The album is many ways an outright masterpiece. If you’re feeling down, like you live in an industrial wasteland, or maybe you just want something that feels like good old kraut with a heavy, deep dark twist? –this one is for you.
Rating: 8.0/10
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