Deastro - Moondagger

Mr. Randy Chabot, we are sorry to tell you this, but you have, despite your best attempts to cover it up with interesting production and unusual song structures, made an album that is poppy as hell.

The 22-year-old is the driving force behind an album that seems to never stop growing on you. Before we get to all that, though, one thing must be stated: this guy has been making music for years. It is only now that Chabot has decided to expand his Deastro project and turn it into a full-band venture. So, with the addition of Jeff Supina on drums, Mark Smak on guitar and Brian Connelly on bass and keys, Deastro present ‘Moondagger’, an album that deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Animal Collective’s ‘Merriweather Post Pavilion’, which was, if you recall, hyped to absolutely ridiculous levels. Eight months on from release, it has lost none of its ability to inspire giddiness in the listener. It is a joyous listen, and the same can be said for ‘Moondagger’.

The percussive rush of opener ‘Biophelia’ sets the tone for the album. Immediately, the album’s production grabs the attention. The vocals sound strangely muffled; the focus is on everything else: the keyboard washes that are a cornerstone of Deastro’s sound, the rock-steady bass, and the prominent drums.

Each song here is positively full to the brim with hooks. They do not become apparent immediately - it could be said that ‘Parallelogram’ is the most immediate song here - but rather are more subtle, gradually revealing themselves to the listener over time. They’re definitely there though. Massive choruses are present too. The MGMT-esque ‘Tone Adventure #3’ (you think that’s a strange song title? You have seen nothing yet…) contains some of the best lyrics on the album. Yes, when you can make them out, they are, more often than not, spot-on, such as this line: ‘I know all the answers, the questions are keeping the score’.

‘Moondagger’ also contains a couple of instrumentals. They stand up on their own, though, and are not intended to be filler. ‘Rivers of Life’ sounds almost like a Battles song, except with added xylophone, and the breathtaking ‘Pyramid Builders’ contains the best hook on the album: a joyous keyboard line.

The song titles complement ‘Moondagger’’s sound, too. Some of the highlights are: ‘Greens, Grays And Nordics’, ‘Kurgan Wave Number One’, and - deep breath - ‘Daniel Johnston Was Stabbed In The Heart With The Moondagger By The King Of Darkness And His Ghost Is Writing This Song As A Warning To All Of Us’. That last one is the longest song title we have seen in quite some time, and it’s a cracking song to boot.

Here, Deastro strike the right balance between ‘experimental’ and ‘accessible’. Diverse in sound and ambitious in scope, ’Moondagger’ is an album that could blow a hole in the wall if enough people caught onto it. An album that is just a bit brilliant.