Moon Duo 
Shadow of the Sun 
Sacred Bones
Street: 03.05
Moon Duo = Psychic Ills + Night Beats 
 
For their third album, lunar pair Ripley Johnson (of Wooden Shjips) and Sanae Yamada have created a nine-track collection of psychedelic jams. I mean “jams” quite deliberately. Although on point at times, Moon Duo seem to have a formula, which consists of looping drum patterns and riffs for five minutes with reverbed vocals serving mostly as garnish. This is not to say that the album is totally boring. In fact, it’s rather hypnotic at times. Tracks like “Zero” (which is oddly Arcade Fire– esque) and “In A Cloud” daze and meander across cosmic soundscapes. However, this is where the remarkability ends. The remainder of the album is fast-paced with head-bobbing tracks such as “Wildling” and “Animal.” Though fast and fun, the only track I found myself replaying was “Free The Skull” in my attempts to mentally source its blatant theft of what I eventually recognized as Foghat’s “Slow Ride.” This album is great for throwing on while you’re busy working on other things, but I would chalk this one up as just another garage-psych band who’s good at keeping to form. –Nic Smith