Moon Duo

Occult Architecture Vol 2

SACRED BONES. CD/DL/LP Portland, Oregon duo present the second half of the series; yang to the previous release’s yin. begins with the glowing energy surge of New Dawn with a drum machine, a mesh of keyboards by Sanae Yamada and heavily effected guitar by Ripley Johnson. The verse pivots around a couple of chords and brings to mind early Stereolab, even Spacemen 3. This is intended to be the lighter of the two albums although the stylistic differences aren’t great. Sevens finds the duo singing harmonies with a strong tune that gets some traction on the mantric three-chord structure, and there is some extra percussion and a strident, spaced-out guitar solo. The instrumental Mirror’s Edge drifts along with three chords and a noodling guitar in a way that doesn’t have quite the same focus, while Lost In Light and the 10-minute instrumental The Crystal World feel more lacking in ideas than mesmeric.