Moon Safari - A Doorway To Summer

Year of Release: 2005
Label: Blomljud Records
Catalog Number: BRCD001
Format: CD
Total Time: 59:53:00

In continuing my tour through RoSFest 2011 bands, the next CD in the queue is/was Moon Safari's debut A Doorway To Summer. We've already published a couple of reviews of the CD, with Joshua's being the most extensive. So rather than a full-on review, I'll just share some of my thoughts while listening to the CD.

There's no denying that Moon Safari's sound harkens back to an earlier time. I'd say a more "innocent" time, but if we think about the 70s, it was rather turbulent - at least in and for some corners of the world. A counter to that turbulence was 70s progressive rock (not to mention the folk rock of the time). Well, some progressive rock. Psychedelic rock, prog's cousin, also seemed to reflect a happier state, too. Musically at least, if not lyrically. Let's not forget irony (and if you're "hopped up" on drugs, every day's happy, man... right?). So it is with Moon Safari. Lovely pastoral sections feature prominently on the first 3 tracks; track four, "We Spin The World" is heavier, rockier and where I most hear Joshua's Beatles comparison, although it isn't there that he makes it*. Bass becomes more in focus here, during the intro, though the piece is not without its own airiness, as there are flute like tones from the mellotron, too.

Of course, right now, the year 2011, is also in the midst of a turbulent time. Or perhaps the turbulence hasn't ended, just the players have changed. This CD was released in 2005, and our world then wasn't much different from today, only the turbulence has intensified. So, perhaps more than ever, we need to balance all the angst and anger with something as sweet as this. But, I won't get morose about our current state of affairs, nor too cynical about how "happy" this CD sounds.

Besides the pastoral feel, which, as Bobo says in his review, gives you a nice springtime feeling -- and so very appropriate for me now as I still here in the middle of June 2011, spring not quite officially over until Tuesday, so I'm just there outside the "doorway" -- we get some magnificent vocal harmonies; rich and layered arrangements with mellotron, moog, organs giving everything a vast and open feel; expressive guitar soloing; shimmering percussion. You will also find in the mix harmonica (it begins "Doorway," along with a guitar arpeggio).

ADIS is a lovely album, light and airy without being flighty or wimpy. In them you will hear some echoes of Yes, but not overt gestures; for instance, in "Doorway" I detect some Howe-like guitar playing, but it's more in style than sound. And Moon Safari has a folksier sound than Yes. And when those harmonies kick in, falsetto, there's no escaping the 70s time machine. "Dance Across The Ocean" channels a bit of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, and as it's mainly the parpy organs, mostly Emerson, without losing some Yes-ness (and later, become a bit Genesis/Marillion-like). It's such an upbeat tune, although the lyrics aren't quite as sunny as that music would imply.

A favorite moment of mine is the opening piano notes to "A Sun Of Your Own." They're light, melodic and hint at something dramatic about to happen. And something does, and epic and elevated guitar solo moment 6-minutes in, which leads into that "lets sway to and fro, lighters held aloft and lit" moment. I'm sure, if this was included in Moon Safari's RosFest set (or any set), that the audience joined in singing the chorus (I wasn't there for Friday night's slate, so I can't confirm that took place; and given the lyrics of "We Spin..." that very well could happened for that, too).

Moon Safari write musical epics; not just in the fact that "We Spin..." spins for more than 24-minutes, and no track is less than 6-minutes long, but also in the arrangement of those minutes, which reach heavenward and spread out across vast swaths of the audible territory. And yet, as with Tinyfish (whom I also just reviewed), it's not overwrought. It's not "epic" for the sake of being "epic." It's just that arrangements flow out, like a river expanding beyond its banks during a springtime rain. We're not flooded, but the shore is now a little closer to home.

As I said above, there's a retro style at work here. And while they and the band I'm about to mention do not sound alike, they both tap into an earlier time. That other band is Magic Pie** Moon Safari paint with more pastels, of course, but where I find the correspondence between Magic Pie and Moon Safari is in the harmonized vocals and the way they both uplift and deepen the music. The strongest comparison is probably to their countrymen Ritual.

The cynic might find Moon Safari too sweet, too sugary. To which I must point out that it's musically light, but I find some darkness in the lyrics -- "Dance..." is quite pointed, though I don't know the politics behind it *** -- makes the lightness all the more meaningful. If you aren't moved to ultimately feeling happy and positive after listening to this, you are way too dour.

The production - by the band and The Flower Kings' Tomas Bodin - is marvelous. Music of this nature, with layers and subtleties wouldn't be served by crappy production. And all round, it's just a great CD. I recall at the time it came out, the buzz it generated; having been listening to this, I can tell you it was well deserved.

*I don't want to focus in on the Beatles references too much, but there are - well, could be at least 3 lyrical references; two in "Doorway" and one in "Dance..."
**Funny I should mention the Norwegian band Magic Pie -- there's a line in "Dance..." , right at the end, that says "...we're busy selling Sweden to Norwegians."
*** yes, another footnote. See, in the middle of writing this review, well, at the point I got to the sentence this footnote belongs to... I went off and read a bit of the history between Sweden and Norway. It didn't quite get me to what MS are inferring here, at least in the last line... but I know more about both countries than I did an hour ago.


Tracklisting:
Doorway (11:36) / Dance Across The Ocean (7:30) / A Sun Of Your Own (9:19) / We Spin The World (24.52) / Beyond The Door (6:40)

Musicians:
Simon Å…kesson - lead vocals, backing vocals, piano, Hammond, Moogs, mellotrons, and choir arrangements
Anthon Johansson - 6 and 12-string acoustic guitars, electric guitars, backing vocals and various percussion
Tobias Lundgren - drums, percussion and backing vocals
Petter Sanström - lead vocals, backing vocals, acoustic guitar and harmonica
Johan Westerlund - bass, backing vocals, and coffeemaking

Discography:
A Doorway To Summer (2005)
Blomljud (2008)
Lover's End (2010)
The Gettysburg Address (2012)
Lover's End Pt III (2012)
Himlabacken, Vol 1 (2013)
Live In Mexico (2014)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin SE

Added: June 18th 2011
Reviewer: Stephanie Sollow
Score:
Artist website: www.moonsafari.se
Hits: 2786
Language: english