Hazy Nebula: THE LUNAR EFFECT

sexta-feira, 25 de janeiro de 2019

REVIEW: THE LUNAR EFFECT - THE CALM BEFORE THE CALM [2019]

The Lunar Effect, was originally a solo project by guitarist Jon Jefford, born from the ashes of DeepSeaGreen, an exciting upcoming act from London, that disbanded in 2013. Receiving widespread praise with the release of the S/T debut EP via 3 Ravens Records, Jon decided to expand the project into a fully-fledged touring band starting by recruiting his brother Daniel (also ex-DSG) for the drums. After writing and recording some demos the duo were giging with some local musicians around the city venues but only when they met bass player Brett Halsey and singer Josh Gosling in 2016, had they finally found the perfect line up to evolve. The band begun to have a shift in sound with the new blood, refining their sound and adapting to a new vocalist style while experimenting more with 60’s and 70’s psychedelic elements, they decided to record, mix and master their next EP Strange Lands themselves, self-released that same year and receiving glowing critics from around the world.

Since then the band began working on new material for their first full length album titled Calm Before The Calm, out today via german label Kozmik Artifactz on CD and Vinyl, and it´s visible with this release how much they´ve grown and solidified their sound of fuzzy riffs and laid down grooves, in a perfect blend of vintage psychedelia, classic hard blues rock and post-grunge, dipping into The Beatles, Floyd, Zeppelin and Sabbath but adding a little Cream to their flavor with the powerful and grungy vocals reminiscent of 90´s scene from Seattle. With a new approach to the songwriting, making it now a team effort, the compositions flow more organically on this balanced and solid record, allowing the band to reach to its full potential. A groovy and thigh rhythmic section, slowly develops the grooves and lays the foundation for the warm fuzzy guitar riffs and gritty raw solos to float around until the mighty and hypnotic vocals take over and tie everything together into a sonic bundle of Kyuss, Radio Moscow and Graveyard. And if the instruments are spot on, creating atmospheric, bluesy and muddy compositions, the radiating vocals with extensive variations of mood and tonality takes it all to the next level, following the lead perfectly either with smooth & mellow verses or exploding & soaring chorus, always engaging and captivating.

These lads should be proud with what they´ve achieved on their brilliant debut LP, taking a giant step forward as band and choosing a righteous direction that certainly holds them a bright future.

BANDCAMP

ORDER