Three years on from ‘Ghost Moon Ritual’, dreamwave duo Lunar Twin return with ‘Aurora’. And they’ve returned sounding energised, and the songs are smooth, and super-lean. The songwiting is so focused here, with not an inch of flab. As with its predecessor, the elements are drifting synths, strong but sedate beats, and Bryce Boudreau’s whispery vocals. On this outing, those vocals are even lower in the mix, achieving an almost ‘ambient’ level of low-key wheezing that’s both mellow and menacing. The band mention the late, great, Mark Lanegan as a touchstone, and the understated nature of the delivery is utterly compelling. So few artists grasp the significance of the adage that less is more: Lunar Twin, however, very much do.
‘Beyond the Sun’ is constructed around a throbbing synth and some weighty synthetic tom-led percussion that really drives this taut, tense thriller forward, and with the hushed vocals, it calls to mind some vintage Krautrock, notably later DAF. ‘Android Dreams’ is magnificent: crisp and sparse yet dreamy, wistful, and spacious, it’s like an electronic rendering of Slowdive’s ‘Slouvaki’ compressed into three minutes.
The drum programming is worth mentioning here: it’s one of those things that so often gets overlooked, but I recently sat with a friend listening to ‘Gift’ by The Sisterhood, Andrew Eldritch’s interim project between incarnations of The Sisters of Mercy and found myself saying, repeatedly – ‘listen to that percussion!’ Good programming can make an album, and the fact is, Christopher Murphy does deft work here, creating drive, movement, and tension.
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The songs on Aurora are notable for their brevity: the longest is three minutes and forty-nine seconds long, and most are around the two-and-a-half-minute mark. Yet none of the songs feel abridged or unrealised, and despite the minimalism, there are no shortage of details, with layers of synth drifting in and out to give these tunes a three-dimensional feel.
Things take a turn for the dancey on ‘Traveler’, with a bumping bass and hypnotic beat dominating the mix.
‘Aurora’ is one of those albums that has a cumulative effect: perhaps because of the sustained low-key atmosphere and overall consistency of the mood and – significantly – the musicianship.
‘Aurora’ very much does offer ease of access and a certain element of groove but at the same time it makes certain demands on the listener – namely to give the details the attention they deserve. Listen, and be rewarded.
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