iii. Mooon

In 2017 Mooon found its first and only entry on this blog. 'Mooon's Brew' was an album that yours truly indicated to like a lot. Apparently, there is a second album, that I've missed, as this album is called iii. Based on 'Mooon's  Brew' and iii this must be a shame.

On its new album Mooon dives deeper into the mid-60s sound but also has shed a truckload of the influences I've mentioned in my review of its debut album. The number of bands mentioned as influences there was as long as the road to Rome is long. What I notice foremost is that the band is even more authentic in sound than before. Whether the band emulates 60s pop like The Monkees or even Zoeterwoude's own The Shoes or rocks somewhere between Traffic and The Velvet Underground, the sound is as if it was recorded in 1966. An important year, that can be seen as a break with the past in many ways. (See e.g. Jon Savage's '1966. The Year The Decade Broke'.)

What is different, that today nearly all recording artists are better musicians than most 60s acts ever were at the time. There is so much more to learn from and from a much earlier age. Exceptions allowed for of course. In favour of the "oldies" stands that they've invented it all. Without them this music would not exist. This generation of musicians is slowly fading from this earth and that brings me to the cover art. The question is, does this fact make iii's cover art symbolic for the 1960s generation fading away, or for the fact that a new generation is stepping into the world to take over the good work?

When Mooon really goes at it, The Who comes around. Several of the up tempo rock songs are fuelled by Pete Townsend inspired riffing. In 2024 this is still wild and exciting, to borrow Earth & Fire's song title from 1970. 'I Will Get Through' is an example. It has 'Tommy' like riffs, an opening chord on the guitar that I can see Pete Townsend windmilling, and soft interludes, yet has short raging guitar solo outbursts like Adrian Gurwitz could play and here in NL in Zen's 'Hair' single and Boudewijn de Groot's band Tower in 'In My Life'. The result is like Earth & Fire's single 'Wild And Exciting'.

Press photo

In 2017 I ask a question that still holds seven years later. What makes young people play music from the time of their grandparents? I truly do not know, except that in my, ageing, ears, this music sounds multiple times more exciting than most of the music I'm hearing today.

Mooon in a way lives in the past. This music is not from 2024 but is a translation of what came before into today. The sounds you hear on iii are all very authentic. That sets Mooon apart from a lot of the psychrockers of this century. There are less modern influences involved here. Mooon is like palaeontologists, recreating what once was as accurately as possible. Or, better, the video artist making the image after the bones of a dinosaur were assembled in the right order.

You will not here me complaining. Even the ballad 'If Only I Knew' goes down well. What I do arrive at, is that the band seems to take a certain song as an example, to then create its own variation, sometimes lending a familiar riff or chord progression, coming very close to the example. However, it is all done in great taste and with obvious love for the original song and artists. Take 'Living In The Night'. It has 'Gloria' spelled all over it, yet is very different. And, yes, exciting.

Anyone with a love for psychedelic rock and pop from circa 1966 ought to know enough. It does not come a lot better in my book.

Wout de Natris

You can order iii here:

https://excelsior-recordings.com/products/mooon-iii