Moonshot - Angels Wear Black

by Lisa Torem

published: 8 / 7 / 2011

Label: EMI
Format: CD

Entrancing electronica on debut album from British dance pop two piece, Moonshot

Review

British duo Daniel Kent and Richard Wolfe comprise Moonshot, a blend of pop and electronica, who recall the contagious, danceable beats of the Pet Shop Boys and Depeche Mode. Their new album, ‘Angels Wear Black’ begins with the thrashing, clashing, double-edged cacophony and warring ferocity of ‘Down to the Sea.’ It clocks in at a mere 3:44; the shortest cut on an album that favours four to seven minute, whopping tracks. The title song, ‘Angels Wear Black’ reveals “a growing sense of symmetry.” The lyrics succinctly describe the activity here, and it is a perfectly balanced blend of energy and harmony, as well. ‘Mercury’ has the catchiest chorus and the most down-to-earth lyrics – “You have the song/But I have the symphony” which soon trails into “Try to get close/But you can’t touch me, mercury." The clever juxtaposition of the dark, abstract spoken word verse against the sweet timbre of the chorus makes the song riveting. ‘Sabotage’ is sobering. “My past was laid to rest/In a perfect state of grace.“ The provocative lyrics are steadied with jangular rhythms. ‘Your blue eyes are wasted on me’ has a bluesy, eerie vocal which gets frantically chased by a lustful bass. “Your blue eyes are wasted on me/ There’s not a place we could go to…” is the simple message, yet it comes off as an amazingly rich rendition given the threadbare story. ‘Puppet King’ has a unique, mideastern exoticism; ‘Change has Come’ differs from the others in that it is a piano-driven ballad, not heavily infused with rhythm variants. ‘Cope’ begins with a muffled intro; the first few lines of: ‘Good Morning Starshine’, but then a cavalry of boisterous male/female harmonies sounds in full-force. The longest song, the closer, clocks in at 7:10 and is called, ‘United States of Earth.’It has many fine moments, too. ‘Angels Wear Black’ is a fitting title for an album that decries pretension, yet allows listeners to lose themselves in entrancing rhythms

Track Listing:-

1 Down to the Sea
2 Angels Wear Black
3 Mercury
4 Sabotage
5 Your Blue Eyes Are Wasted (On Me)
6 Puppet King
7 The Day I Learned to Stand Still
8 Change Has Come (To Stay)
9 Cope
10 United States of Earth