Moon Duo
's earlier recordings reflected enough of guitarist/songwriter
Ripley Johnson
's other band,
Wooden Shjips
, to make his fans happy. Even if this two-person group --
Johnson
and organist
Sanae Yamada
-- relied heavily on fixed rhythms since they didn't have a drummer, the guitars soloed and sprawled in hypnotic, free-form psych. The approach on
Mazes
is different, even if they keep some elementals intact. Check the title track, where
Yamada
's organ plays a lithe, sprightly pop melody and
's guitar punches a trebly chord sequence adding heft. There's a cheap drum machine to keep the rhythm pulsing, acknowledging Krautrock's Motorik influence.
's singing isn't buried in the mix the way it usually is; it's at the same level as the instruments, and the psych-pop melody governs the tune, even when he plays short solos between verses. The song drives and pushes and percolates. It's a got a bona fide hook and is relatively short.
"Scars"
follows it with less punch and a more laid-back, heartbeat rhythm; but once more,
relies heavily on a pronounced melodic vamp as
's organ shimmers and swoops around the foreground. His guitar is here, but it's hidden behind a
Michael Rother
-esque wall of effects.
"When You Cut,"
with its handclaps and blasting two-chord jump, is a bona fide dance jam for psych heads.
"Run Around'
employs a shambling
Bo Diddley
shuffle in what feels like an update of
"Who Do You Love."
"In the Sun"
sounds like
? and the Mysterians
jamming with
Suicide
. That's not to say the spaced-out
is gone. Opening cut
"Seer"
is organ-dominated, but
's effects-laden lead guitar chugs in to open things up a bit. Likewise,
"Fall Out"
has a more complex guitar line at the foreground but eventually breaks apart and heads for the stratosphere, yet ends before it gets there Finally,
"Goners,"
at 7:41, takes on the
Stooges
' nasty minimal riffing, adds a Motorik rhythm, and a
John Cippolina
-esque guitar solo to reflect a "traditional"
jam.
is all about songwriting growth, lyric melody, more elaborate textures, and accessible riffs. They underscore
's heavy stuff and offer something refreshingly different in the process. ~ Thom Jurek