| CD REVIEW High The Moon |
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Band : High The Moon This is the solo project of one Kees Groenteman, formerly a member of Ghost trucker, and currently known as frontman of Amsterdam-based Dutch Psychedelic SynthPop act Lola Kite (whose debut album Lights was released in January 2001 by this very same label). Funny band really, because where one of the guys does the lead singing, another does most of the bass, and the third plays most of the guitar, each and every member however gets to play some synths, sitars, or samplers...both on stage and in the studio. In other words, a trio of multi-instrumentalists! However, this project is something which has occupied Groenteman (whom now prefers to be known by the Christian name Keez) for years, alongside the band he helped found in early 2009 (took over lead vocals in 2010). Over the years he'd put plenty of songs (in earlier versions) on his personal website, where friends of his enjoyed the tune. Along the way the desire grew to have his songs heard by more that that handful of people, and he eventually recorded his songs' final versions of his High The Moon project (after multiple changes) in his attic room studio, between 2009 and 2001. Well, as he puts it himself in the info sheet we got along with the download promo copy of the album, “Give me a computer, a microphone, and a bunch of instruments...and I'm happy!” In his own words : “I am quite unable to bring this music live, or it would have to be a laptop performance, and that's something I've never wanted to do. My attempt to bring my songs with a band was what brought to live Lola Kite, and that band's existence confirmed my idea that HTM would remain a solo and studio project!” What can the listener expect? Well, there's quite some comparisons with Lola Kite, of course, but there's differences nevertheless. From the music I've heard, LK is somewhat rawer, and perhaps also a bit more uplifting. Yes, there's a soft darker side to HTM, a melancholic touch which shrouds the overall sound like a comfortable pair of well-used shoes fits your feet. But otherwize the Psychedelic Electropop with added guitar is certainly there. Check it out for yourself, and go listen to the material (a total of 5 audio files and 3 videos) posted at (www.) myspace.com/highthemoon. Only “A Pilot” and “Wish These Were The Words” actually made it to the album, but together with the rest you get a perfectly good idea of what to expect. Are you a Shoegazer music fan? Into modern soft Psychedelica? Then check out this guy's music. What you wanna bet you'll go out to get the album? 93/100 Tony. |
