Stars Are the Light in Bloomington, MN

The sounds that emanate from the speakers when first dipping into
Moon Duo
's seventh studio album,
Stars Are the Light
, are different enough from previous works that it wouldn't be all that wrong to wonder if maybe there was a mix-up at the pressing plant. "Flying" is languid and hazy, with
Ripley Johnson
's guitar dialed deep back in the mix, sequenced synths up front, and a shuffling slow-motion funk beat slowly pushing the song forward while
Johnson
and keyboardist
Sanae Yamada
's vocals are relaxed to the point of somnambulance, even more than usual. It doesn't sound much like classic
and only sharp-eared listeners who remember the track "Mirror's Edge" from 2017's
Occult Architecture, Vol. 2
might recognize the new direction this track, and most of the album, is heading. Working with
Sonic Boom
on the mixing desk and heavily inspired by shimmering disco and the ambient pop of the '90s, the duo cast their old ways of working and sounding aside in favor of something lighter, softer, and more sparkly.
Stars
works pretty well as a slice of escapist, warm-blooded dance-pop. In songs like "The World and the Sun" or the title track, where the drums rattle back and forth, the bass gets a groove going, and the guitar and synth give off glittering sparks, the band bump right up against the kind of trancey, blissed-out feel they are aiming for. The slower pieces don't work quite as well, though even these are made pleasant by
's snaking guitar leads ("Fall [In Your Love]") and the expansive mixing Mr.
Boom
provides. Hidden near the end of the album, coming just as eyelids are starting to droop, "Eye 2 Eye" delivers the churning guitars and propulsive beats one might expect from the band. The record ends peacefully with the calmest, most tripped-out ballad of the bunch, "Fever Night." ~ Tim Sendra