Short Reviews [Moon Men - 2019 - "3"]

The third album in three years from the same line-up saw them choose a far less evocative title this time around. In many ways that is also true of the music contained inside as while it is still avant-garde and experimental, much of it has again taken a step towards more mainstream prog. There is less of the brass instruments, and far more in the way of long held-down keyboard chords which make the music seem more fluid and less staccato. In terms of song length, the album is also more standardised than before, with only one song less than four minutes long and just one over seven. This feels as if Bret Hart has had a much stronger influence on the songs this time round, with less in the way of orchestrated chaos. Numbers are more regulated, and it is easier to follow the patterns and the journey in front of us, as opposed to previously not knowing what was going on. To my ears it is the more chaotic sections that still have the most to offer, where the musicians just let rip in multiple different directions and melodies, pushing limits and stretching boundaries. While there are still times when it happens on ‘3’, it is not nearly as common as it was on debut ‘Amazing Science Fiction Stories’ which is a shame. The result is an album that is solid as opposed to exceptional, intriguing and interesting as opposed to experimental and evocative, yet still compelling and well worthy of further investigation.