Recommend

Album Details

• Artist: Beautiful Lunar Landscape
• EP:
Alone In This Dark Romantic Night
• Label: Hidden Shoal
• Year of Release: 2007
• ME Rating:
• Reviewed by: Kevin Sellers on 2007-10-11
• Viewed: 940 times

France's Beautiful Lunar Landscape formed all the way back in 2003 and since have mostly been touring their native land and other European countries, pushing their way into music fan's consciousness slowly but surely. Much like the 4 tracks on their debut EP on Hidden Shoal, Alone In This Dark Romantic Night, the band has an essence of can-do and will-do to them, a sound that manages to capture years of songwriting experience and the very moods their namesake suggests.

   They play a sort of progressive rock style, with shoegazey guitar melodies and soft, whispered vocals mostly. Think Radiohead meets Slint meets Pink Floyd's spaced out atmospheres. The EP begins with "Glorious Chaos", which drifts in one some breezy synths and a little guitar melody before quickly changing tempos and speeding up into rocking rhythms that remind me almost exactly of Bauhaus' "Stigmata Martyr", most likely for the guitar and twangy bass. This one nearly explodes before hitting a wall of smooth atmospheric effects, drawing the song to a close. The next and title track is my favorite, a beautiful and distinguished rock song featuring some gorgeous female vocals and a swirling riff pattern that phases from one speaker to the next, spiraling over the Slint-esque noise underneath like a snake. I especially love the bit between 1:25 ("And it wasn't the first time they had been together...") and 2:15, a sort of peak before the peak. 

    The craftsmanship that went into Alone In This Dark Romantic Night is astonishing; Beautiful Lunar Landscape sound very much ahead of the times and older than their years. You can (and should) check out 3/4 of this EP on their myspace, or do them a favor and head over to Hidden Shoal's website and buy it. You'll want to after giving the title track a listen, trust me. This is the sort of atmospheric and progressive rock music that you can really get lost in, and it works whether you're fully drawn in or just have it on in the backround. If these guys don't go on to make a full-length that breaks them into the global spotlight, I'll be shocked.  

User Reviews and Comments

Review or Comment

Log In or Register to Rate Albums