The clue is in the album title, the artwork and the band name. “Psychedelic space lounge music” is what they call it. Electronic at the core, one of the influences is Kraftwerk. I can live with that. So too do early Pink Floyd and Radiohead get a mention. There’s even a cover of Pink Floyd’s “Julia Dream” on this album.
The languid journey through space starts with the title track. “Cosmic” has an exotic eastern air and aroma. The vocals break the electronic hypnosis. Kraftwerk could get away this, but theirs was mechanical. This is dreamy and doesn’t benefit from direct lyrics and flat delivery. The vocals remind me a little of Clan of Xymox but again the surroundings are different. “Twisted Kamasutra” bundles along, smooth as silk, and has the warmth of lapping waves on a seashore, and is enhanced by sophisticated electronic growls, synthy drums and deep bassy sounds, but is once again undone by the vocals and the words. As I absorbed the sounds, I subconsciously wished that the vocalist would go away. It’s not that his singing is bad or anything, although it’s hardly melodious, but it just didn’t fit in and detracts from the atmosphere, introducing and edgy element to something which has no edge.
Eldorado is a golden place of opportunity, and this is the title of the next dreamy, Floydian piece. It is characterised by dark melancholy, and even develops menace. Yet I couldn’t identify any thread in it. “Eldorado” is the prelude to “Julia Dream”, which at four times the length of the Pink Floyd original, was always going to have a different shape. Yet it’s not far from the original, and perhaps that’s not surprising as both the music of Pink Floyd and The Sun or The Moon has a woozy, dream-like quality. The Sun or The Moon’s rendition is powerful if not as haunting as the original. Whilst it doesn’t matter to me whether a cover sounds the same or different from an original, I think the overriding impression I was getting of the Sun or The Moon’s music was that there’s a harshness to it, which doesn’t sit well. “Trippin’ on Mars” follows and sets out with more intent than earlier pieces. It’s like a journey “out there” both in the literal and psychedelic sense, even including the countdown to lift off. The rhythm is uniform but we’re in motion. The vocals are pleasingly softer and fit into the electronic fare. “Trippin’ on Mars” most certainly comes from the advertised “electronic foundation of repetitive machine beats and sound carpets”. Again, there’s an eastern-sounding guitar adding mystery to the fluidity. “Space Travel Agent” by contrast is more floaty. “I’m lost in space” sums it up. So, we drift but I found it too weighty and deadening for its subject matter. The introduction of the saxophone on the 18 minute “Quicksand” is just right. “You make me feel like drowning on dry land”, goes the lyric, and with it goes the sultry electro-beat, made more colourful by the moody guitar and saxophone. Now we’re travelling.
I had an issue with the balance here. The Sun or The Moon clearly set out their intent to create a space trip, and package “Cosmic” together nicely. Whilst I wouldn’t have expected to float and drift around for 70 minutes, the duration of this album, I found that the vocals and sometimes the sharp tone cut into the rich ambience. Sometimes they get it just right, and as they prove on “Trippin’ On Mars” and “Quicksand” the band blends the musical elements, making this dreamy trip most enjoyable.
(7/10 Andrew Doherty)
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