Local Review: Lunar Twin – Ghost Moon Ritual

Lunar Twin
Ghost Moon Ritual

Self-released
Street: 04.27
Lunar Twin = Joy Division + Muse 

Without the members living in the same city, Lunar Twin have managed to keep consistency in their music. It’s been over eight months since Chris Murphy and Bryce Boudreau released their debut single and music video, “Leaves,” through SLUG, and now they’ve released their full album, Ghost Moon Ritual.

The album quickly throws you into a wavy, ethereal dream with “Drunken Sky.” Deep, breathy vocals seem to be a trademark for Lunar Twin, and it works well for them. One thing that I’ve noticed is that the ’80s sound is and has been a strong presence in their work. There are 13 songs on the album, all of them enchanting and dreamy with twists of darkness. Due to the consistency in their music, the songs can sound a bit too much alike if you’re not paying close attention.

Among my personal favorite tracks is “Slow Down,” where a more playful and uplifting beat is present. Here, the guitar riffs interlace sweetly with the electronic beat, though it is a bit contradicting that the track is quite fast despite the title. “SLC in Blue” manages to capture the aura of Salt Lake City with a gloomy beat, despite ultimately showing love to the city itself. I imagined myself walking up the roads of our beautiful Wasatch Mountains or taking a stroll on the Salt Flats while listening to it. Who doesn’t love a song about their own city?

Ghost Moon Ritual is something interesting to me. It’s calming and trance-like, as every track pulls you in with small hints of the guitar in the background and the soft, dark, perfectly placed synths. What draws me in the most are the airy vocals because this timbre is quite rare and Lunar Twin pulls it off well. The vocals can come off as super dark, mysterious or relaxing depending on what track you listen to. Ghost Moon Ritual is a great album to put on when it’s raining. –Kimberly Portillo