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Nov 21, 2011 Issue #38 - 10th Anniversary Issue By Luke Winkie

Born from an enveloping starkness, the self-titled Soft Moon record remains one of 2011’s nicest surprises. Not content to stick to the sidelines and continue to accept the praise, songwriter Luis Vasquez has put out Total Decay, a new EP under the moniker. Sticking to the same monochromatic bleakness that earned them their buzz, The Soft Moon almost exceeds itself in harshness. On the moth-eaten title track and “Alive,” Vasquez’s voice is completely smeared out by pile-driving noise and dense, ugly slabs of guitar fog. The closer, “Visions,” follows its death march bombast deep into the red until no sanity remains, just a frantic drum machine and a strangling loop. The Soft Moon aren’t exactly veering from the script here, it can be easy wondering if they’re capable of anything but psychotic fear, but they certainly do what they do well. Total Decay‘s long, cinematic shadow stretches much further than ever expected from four songs in 15 minutes. (www.myspace.com/thesoftmoon/music)

Author rating: 8/10