So there I was happily catching up with some emails. Jools Holland’s Later on BBC2 was on TV and it was all very pleasant. Then Jools muttered something about, Moon Hooch and the camera spun around to show two sax players and a drummer. Immediately they sprang into life and the sound was incredible. The tune was Number 9, a track released in 2013 and performed with such energy and a beautiful closeness which got my attention.
Moon Hooch are two sax players and a drummer who have been making serious waves since 2013 with their sax, drums and electronic creations. They comprise Mike Wilbur on tenor and Wenzl McGowen on baritone saxes and James Muschler on drums. They used to play on New York City subway platforms but have found a new role touring with the likes of Beats Antique, They Might Be Giants, and Lotus, as well as selling out their own headline shows in major venues around the US and bringing their unique sound to people. Red Sky, is their third album. They have been praised by the Wall Street Journal, New York Magazine and other publications, described as ‘unhinged’ and ‘brawny’. I think they are simply some very good musicians who have come together to make extraordinary music.
The band met as students and for quite a while kept commuters entertained with their playing on New York subway platforms, attracting large and interested crowds. They recorded two albums previously and left busking behind but there is still a rawness about their music and also a sense of cutting edge which is so delicious in their playing. Red Sky was recorded at The Bunker studio in Brooklyn.
It opens with the title track which is a rhythmic, tribal sounding number with heavy playing from the tenor of Mike Wilbur, backed by the glorious, driving baritone of Wenzl McGowan. That’s What They Say is led by the staccato tonguing of the baritone establishing the rhythm before the electronics take the sounds, twist and emphasise them to create something of a mini musical master piece. Sunken Ship includes vocals from Wilbur and sounds like something from the late 1970s, all quietly backed up behind the singer and lifting the slightly trite words to the listener, it reminded me of Kind Hearts and English or similar.
Then comes Low 5 which centres around keyboards and drums creating a light, heady sound followed by Psychotubes. This track uses unexpected rhythms and is held aloft by some exceptional drumming from James Muschler. A heavy, pulsating theme drives the track and this develops very nicely, working and re-working the theme. On The Sun is another floaty, 70s sounding number with vocals, deep bass lines from the keyboard and heavy on the atmosphere. Booty House has a synthed theme and is basically an electro-pop number but very listenable. On Shot, Mike Wilbur sings very few words over a tight, mesmeric rhythm. Something Else is simply wonderful. A beautifully constructed track it shows off each musician with watertight drums, staccato baritone which develops its own theme which has enough changes to keep your ear pricked the whole way through. At one stage the tenor takes wings and flies – beautiful moments which makes the track not just good but exceptional. This is what this band do best. Insane, danceable and unfettered – this is the track which makes the album.
Rough Sex is a track which begins with the promise of a driving, rhythmic theme which is taken and lightened considerably by the electronic synthed music. Given its title, the expectations of something deep, dark and slightly salubrious are somewhat thwarted by the tinkling of the keys and the delicate tripping up and down the boards. The theme is strong, provided by synth bass and the drumming pin point accurate. The Thought is electro-pop and creates a dance driven sound whilst Alien Invasion creates a darker, chomping, cutting sound, delivered with the sharpness of razor wire. Broken Tooth works its way from a light, open introduction into a rhythmic, swinging, heady number and the CD finishes with Audrey (bonus track). This opens with the theme set by the tenor and baritone staccato-ing between any perceivable gap. Together, the two saxes work up an absolute storm to finish the CD in style.
Live, the band run the sound from their horns through software on their laptops to process recorded effects onto the output as well as Moog synthesizers, an EWI (an electronic wind instrument that responds to breath in addition to touch), and other more traditional instruments like clarinets. For Red Sky there was a decision to use as little in the way of “studio tricks” as possible, aiming instead to capture the sound of their live show, but this is still very much an electro-sounding CD.
There are so many identities here - there are 70s sounding balladic references underpinned with lots of synthesised music, there are funky, punky dance sounds and there are strong jazz references. They sound old, they sound young, they sound like any band in a club, they sound a cut above, it is all varied and interesting but somehow you engage and some of the tracks are completely original in their sounds. The band sound on the one hand as if they are still seeking an identity where they feel at home and on the other hand the combination of their sounds, along with their practiced and unusual tongue techniques and means of obtaining weird and wondrous sounds from their instruments means they already have a sound, the like of which I have not heard for a long time. The places where it is just two saxes and the drums are absolutely magical. There is a pattern in the writing of intro, establish the theme, repeat it and then repeat again but they are growing as a band and in confidence. Maybe more could be done with the lyrics but this is a band whose individual talents are prodigious. Along with the love of electronica these talents are interwoven to create something special which is apparent from the first listen. Personally, I love their sax and drums work and don’t think they need so much electric stuff going on – but this is maybe just me. The aim was, apparently to capture live performances as if they were still performing on the subway but the use of synthed sounds is very much to the fore here so they missed that aim but what they have created is something quite special and absolutely jam packed with promise for the future.
The band are very much into meditation, green living and creating love between people and with their music McGowan said once, “I feel like we’re putting the intention of positive change constantly into our music. While we’re playing, I often see the future emerging: skyscrapers getting covered in plants, frowns turning into smiles, fistfights into hugs. I can see the energy of love and collaboration and trust replace the energy of fear, hatred and violence.” I think they have a considerably heavy weight tool in the box with which to go some way to achieve this.
