Release Date: August 25th 2023. Record Label: Riot Season Records. Formats: DD/Vinyl
Luna To Phobos: Tracklisting
Slick Starliners
Mud River
Those Disruptors
Luna To Phobos
Non Telepaths
Multiplied From The Old Days
Benefit Of Control
Zenith
Members
Mitsuru Tabata
Mike Vest
Dave Sneddon
Review:
Experimental Noise/Space/Sludge Rockers Modoki return with their latest album Luna To Phobos and comes four months after their slightly crazed but ultimately satisfying debut album Atom Sphere. Featuring Mitsuru Tabata (Boredoms and Acid Mothers Tongue) and two of the UK's busiest underground experimental musicians - Mike Vest and Dave Sneddon. Mike and Dave recently teamed up with Tomoyuki Aoki for the TOMOYUKI TRIO band where you can read my review of their debut album here.
Anyway, back to Modoki. Luna To Phobos features even more fine examples of screeching guitars, amplifier feedback and multi-layered reverb across the Noise/Space/Sludge Rock COSMOS. There seems to be a more cohesive creative fusion of heavy grooves, warped vocals and deafening Psychedelic tones of three fantastic musicians having fun with their music. Modoki perhaps a free-form mentality on this release which you can hear to great effect on the albums opening two tracks of Sick Starliners and Mud River where the band play with a wild reckless abandonment of thrilling Noise Rock instrumental jams with that legendary style of Japanese Freakout and heavy Psychedelia. There's a more free-flowing distorted element to the track which allows the Space Rock side of Modoki's music to become more Progressive with a killer Garage Rock element appearing.
Third song Three Disruptors has a more Space Rock score allowing Modoki to become more experimental with their Ambient Noises, Sounds and Glitches which allows the album to be more DRONED OUT. Maybe not the heaviest track on the album but one that sees Modoki play a more intricate style of music with impressive fast-paced guitar solos with solemn Middle Eastern flavour being played in the background.
Fourth track Luna To Phobos continues with the trippy Middle Eastern sounds with moments of haunting Jazz based Drone moments that blends Acoustic grooves that fit eerily in with the Space Rock and Garage Rock pathos that the album aims for and ultimately delivers. Mitsuru, Dave and Mike are at the top of their game on this track alone. This is one of the most creative and weirdest tracks on the record with a stunning reliance on Post-Rock and Classic Rock towards the end of the song.
The second half of the album sees Modoki return to their heavy Experimental Domain with a Sixties based Freakout Philosophy leaning into the heavier areas of Garage Rock, Space Rock and even Sludge Rock on tracks such as Non Telepaths, Multiplied From The Old Days and the epic final track of Zenith. This part of the album is where everyone uses their wealth of music knowledge and creativity to perform some of the wildest sounding moments of Psych Rock/Space Rock that Modoki have performed over their last two albums. The atmosphere is quite reckless at times with the style of music Modoki plays here. The mood can even be described as "beautifully disorganised chaos" where the grooves are disturbingly HEAVY but also equally addictive.
If you're fascinated by the darker attitudes of Experimental Space Rock with perhaps a surreal creative edge that is powered by the disturbing paranoia of Philip K. Dick then Luna To Phobos is the album for you.
Luna To Phobos is an album that could have only come from the Experimental Underground Rock Scene as the album has a FEARLESS ATTITUDE where anything and everything goes for a record that ultimately leaves you wholly satisfied but also demanding more Psychedelic carnage from these brilliant musicians.
Words by Steve Howe
Thanks to Mike Vest and Riot Season Records for the promo.
Luna To Phobos will be available to buy on DD/Vinyl via Riot Season Records from August 25th 2023.
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