Moon Letters is a collective of musicians from other bands in the Seattle area, USA that offers Symphonic Prog sounds with Classic Rock and Psychedelic veins. The second album “Thank You From the Future” was released on August 8, 2022 and contains 7 medium-long tracks. The opening track “Sudden Sun” which is also the shortest in duration, immediately plunges us into the elaborate Prog atmospheres of the album. Intricate plots, retro-style choral vocals with an intertwining of high-level keyboards and guitars on a rhythmic session in continuous evolution and enriched by tempo changes. A good alternation of sung parts and instrumental sections that enhance the technique of the artists involved in a continuous musical crescendo. The following “The Hrossa” opens with a warm and expressive vocal, developing a softer piece than the previous one and with fine guitar works. Enriched with tempo changes and with the intensity that increases with the passage of the piece that also becomes more and more elaborate. Heavier guitar riff and a fine blend of Prog and Classic Rock, with intertwining keyboards and guitar that offers excellent lead inserts. “Mother River” is a successful blend of Rock and Prog, with solid sounds and a dark touch with very engaging accelerations and tempo changes. A track with a retro imprint, which brings back to the present day with a personal touch the sounds of the 70s between refined instrumental parts and a dynamic and expressive vocal. Intricate textures of guitar and bass on keyboard sounds enriched by effects open “Isolation and Foreboding,” with more complex sounds. The choral vocals are very engaging and range over multiple tones, while the music is constantly evolving showing high-level ideas with visrtuos instrumental sections that combine tradition and innovation of the Progressive genre. From the softer and more dreamy sounds “Child of Tomorrow” softens the tones between the previous intricate Prog tracks, in the first part, and then increases in intensity. In the central part the band combines the sweeter traits of their sound with accelerated inserts and granite guitar riffs that are intertwined with a pompous synth. A piece that combines Symphonic traits and more elaborate Prog with an excellent technique. “Fate of the Alacorn” begins softly, and then after the intro propose a granite prog with good mixes between guitar and keyboard, enriched by a rhythmic session full of tempo changes. The reminiscences of the ’70s are noticeable, managing to bring them into a modern context with markedly personal features with valuable instrumental phrasing. The album ends with “Yesterday Is Gone” a softer track with more symphonic features in the first part, with a sweet vocal and softer melodies. In the central part the band changes and brings us back to the solid almost Heavy Prog sounds that characterize the sound, with long instrumental textures that if we close our eyes take us back in time to the golden years of Prog. Bands and albums like this do the good of music, showing how Prog sounds have high level exponents in full swing. The reminiscences of the ’70s are marked but the band manages to reproduce those sounds with their own personal, modern and original style. There are all the ingredients for listening to pure Progressive music, showing technique and quality both in the compositional and executive phases. A listening recommended for all Prog lovers, both for purists and for those who love the most modern sounds, in my opinion a masterpiece of the genre and one of the best albums listened to in recent years.
Tracklist
01. Sudden Sun (04:19)
02. The Hrossa (06:18)
03. Mother River (04:32)
04. Isolation and Foreboding (06:33)
05. Child of Tomorrow (05:27)
06. Fate of the Alacorn (07:06)
07. Yesterday Is Gone (06:47)
Lineup
Kelly Mynes / Drums, Percussion, Moon Screech
Mike Murphy / Electric Fretted and Fretless Bass, Vocals, Percussion, Earthen Grumbles
John Allday / Electric Piano, Organ, Synthesizers, Virtual Orchestra, Vocals, Mercurial Chant
Dave Webb / Electric Guitars, Metal Toolbox, Shovel, Primordial Grunts
Michael Trew / Lead & Backing Vocals, Flute, Acoustic & 12-String Electric Guitar (5), Percussion Experiments, Barbaric Yawps
