by Jason

Lunar Twin is the duo of Christopher Murphy and Bryce Boudreau. Their brand of dreamy soundscapes is housed in a hypnotic synth delicacy that blends a sort of goth aesthetic with a subtler electronica. Both members live in very different environments. One lives in Salt Lake City while the other finds his home in tropical Hawaii. Night Tides is their debut EP and the six tracks give a glimpse of what is to come from this refined duo. As they construct their smooth compositions, they draw from the haziness of Jesus and the Mary Chain, the gothic depths of This Mortal Coil, and the electronic sensibilities of New Order. However, do not let the smooth exterior of these songs fool you. There is a sexy swagger here, deep and emotive.

Night Tides begins with the moody, sensual piece “Waves”. There is an almost samba beat here, which adds to that erotic feel. Boudreau’s vocals slink into the speakers, hypnotic and enticing. Synths rise and fall throughout the composition, like the title of the track suggests. It’s an incredible mood-setting opener for this six-song tryst. “Blood Moon” continues the slinky feeling, as Bourdeau’s vocals slither amid warbling, slightly fuzzed electronic tones. Dreamy tones rise up in the cracks of the piece while percussion and bass almost give the song a steamy, jazz club feel. There is both a layered and a sparse feeling in “Blood Moon” at the same time. There is also a distance and intrepidness but with an inviting temptation. String sounds come into the mix eventually to reinforces that dark, smoke-filled room feel.

“Coral Sea” is more upbeat, if that’s even a description for what Lunar Twin does. The keys on this track are murky while the drums more prominent in their mid-tempo high-hat play. Again, and I cannot stress this enough, Bourdeau’s vocals are just spellbinding. As the track progresses, the synths reverberate through the speakers, panning back and forth over layers of drones. Murphy and Bourdeau are a killer creative combination in the music department with solidly crafted tracks. At the half-way point into the EP, it becomes clear that the ending is going to leave the listener wanting a full-length. “Birds of Paradise” is a slightly brighter track which begins with the sounds of crickets chirping in the night. Then bright synths come into the speakers and deep bass floor thumps. It’s a gorgeous throwback track that hits all the right nostalgia feelings with an updated tonal quality to it.

“Prayers of Smoke” has hazy background noise which is almost breathy under driving electronic synths. The drums beat in a mid-tempo cadence while layers appear here and there, with guitar-like sounds flittering about. The track has a macabre feel and a ritualistic essence. The finale to this all-to-short EP is the titular track “Night Tides”. It begins with dreamy drones and glistening sounds. Channeling the experimental side of Peter Murphy mixed with the best of experimental artist Loscil, this final track is deeply mesmerizing and gorgeously lush

If the measure of great music is to evoke feelings and a cinematic moment for the listener, then Lunar Twin has hit the spot. Night Tides as a whole is a masterpiece of dreamwave tracks. Deep, brooding, suggestive, and spellbinding, Lunar Twin have produced an EP that should be in all music lover’s music catalogs. Pick up a copy from Moon Sounds Records. You won’t be disappointed.