Moonsicles - Bay of Seething

Lovely, mysteriously canted debut LP by the new Austin-based quartet put together by Aaron Russell (ex-Cherry Blossoms, Weird Weeds, etc.). The music on Bay of Seething is instrumental, and rolls with a very cinematic feel, as though it were the soundtrack for some sort of rather sad, but highly psychedelic, movie. Sonically, if you need easy handles, the sounds are probably closer to Weird Weeds' than to Cherry Blossoms', perhaps because bassist Lindsey Verrill is a Weeds alum as well. But perhaps not. The blend of Aaron's guitar - sometimes raw and heavy, sometimes more in the electro-folk mode - with Sheila Scoville's synth, Verrill's bass, and Carolyn Cunningham's drums creates a dynamic and surging whole that's hypnotic and rapturous. Curiously, Moonsicles grab neither of the easy tropes that have lately been the stock-in-trade of instrumental units - oriental and spaghetti westerns. Their approach is straighter in a way, more based on proggy rock-qua-rock without nodding to either the far east or the faux west. The more the record plays, the deeper you'll sink. So grab yr duvet and prepare thyself for a solid ride -Byron Coley, 2016. Limited edition of 300.