Moonface - Organ MusicNot Vibraphone Like I'dHoped

Thu 18th Aug, 2011 in Music Reviews

Wolf Parade’s Spencer Krug loves a good side-project, and fans of Sunset Rubdown can attest to the man’s ability to deliver, but after hearing Organ Music, Not Vibraphone Like I’d Hoped, the question remains; is an album of loose, long-form organ experiments really a good idea? Is it? Well, yes. I was surprised too, but the simple fact is that Krug has keenly attenuated pop instincts, the sort that you can’t simply switch off, even in the middle of an organ jam. On his second outing as Moonface – after 2010’s Dreamland – Marimbas and Shit Drums EP (the man has a way with titles) – Krug never loses his sense of balance and proportion, he just allows it to distend rather dramatically.

The album’s title is at least half accurate – I don’t know anyone that actually craves vibraphone in this day and age – organs run the show. Though augmented by other instrumentation, it is unquestionably the showpiece element of OMNVLIH, along with Krug’s always-entertaining streams of thought. Opening track, the narcotic Return To The Violence Of The Ocean Floor comes on gently, with a multi-octave organ riff twinkling like refracted sunlight. It quite improbably builds, layer upon layer, as the song shifts through sections so subtly that you are only dimly aware of an emotional shift taking place. The textures conjured are quite remarkable, given the conscious decision to limit the musical palette to just organ, filters and drum machine; it really feels like a Jules Verne-inspired deep sea voyage.

In terms of genre, it’s hard to say exactly where Moonface belongs. When one considers all the cross-currents in this music, it’s hard to believe that it even holds together; Krug’s voice is pure indie pop, an polite, off-kilter warble so endearing that he can say things like “He told me all about it on the balcony, when we were high on drugs” and get away with it. Cutting against this are the tinny yet aggressive drum machine patterns that propel the songs, at times pushing them into rave-up territory. Then of course there are the organs; densely layered, Krug’s melodic figures spill into each other, intertwining in an almost baroque fashion. It’s pretty, dense, odd, endurance-testing ambient music, you might say.

Fast Peter is proof of this. Another album highlight, it comes close to breaking the Moonface mould, and yet it doesn’t, for the simple reason that it’s a very flexible, loose-fitting mould. Cracking along at a ferocious, Holy-Fuck-like velocity, Fast Peter nonetheless seems to barely move; under its skittering drums and lush, multilayered organ drones, a few gentle melodies drift by, and the chords nigh-on imperceptibly change. Over this fast/slow dream fugue, Krug recites funny, touching lines about his friend’s long-distance romance. Then things really slow down, and the drums drop out; as a metaphor for Peter’s romance, this is bad news; for the listener, all is well, just another organ jam to soak up.

As recently as a month ago, Dan Boeckner looked to have sewn up the unofficial ‘Best Wolf Parade Side-Project Album of the Year’ award with Handsome Furs’ excellent Sound Kapital, but OMNVLIH has seen Krug storm back into contention.

If you’re willing to commit to this album, to go right along with Krug on every flight of fancy, you will be handsomely rewarded.