aaamusic | On 25, Mar 2012

Called after a Canned Heat’s song, Poor Moon is the side-project of Fleet Foxes’ members Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott, altogether with Ian and Peter Murray.

Signed by Bella Union, the four-piece is releasing now their first EP, illusion, a collection of five minimalist folk gems.

Tranquil, almost motionless, Illusion draws upon a similar tradition to the one familiar to Fleet Foxes’ fans, but deserts the baroque ornaments of their associate act and abandons itself to the quiet guitars of Nick Drake and to a similar sense of sorrow.

This slow pace is shaken only by the lead guitar stomping in People in her Mind, almost an accident plugging in before embracing oblivion again with Once Before and its sampled voices in the background or in the even more Drake-esque Widow and its choirs sounding like lonely wolves howling at this poor, poor moon.

It is hard to forecast a prolific future for this quartet, considering the hectic routine of their associate act and the continuous worldwide touring, but in times like this the peaceful shelter is much more than needed, and we hope that illusion won’t be just an episode but a beginning.

 

Lorenzo Coretti