Short Reviews [Moon X - 2023 - "The New Prometheus"]

I have no idea how Jerry King and I first came into contact, but I do know that it was through him that I came to know Dave Newhouse, since when my musical awareness has greatly increased as both are wonderful musicians and I really enjoy the work they undertake, both independently of each other as well as in projects like this. Here we have the second album from Moon X, where Jerry provides guitar, bass and trombone, Dave keyboards and woodwinds, while George Newhouse has again provided the drums which form the underlying basis. This is instrumental space rock being approached from the jazz arena, as one would expect given who is involved. I am friends with both Jerry and Dave on Facebook, and they seem incapable of letting a day go by without creating more art as their work ethic puts us all to shame, yet somehow, they manage to maintain high quality control so whatever they release is always fascinating and interesting. All the material is original, but some first came to existence some time ago and have only just been completed through to finality. Within the CD (yes, this is a proper CD release, not just another independent digital on Bandcamp, although it is available there as well) there are notes on each of the songs and it is interesting to note that “Perry Rhodan” was originally destined to be recorded by Manna Mirage. It does seem somewhat strange that both Jerry and Dave recorded multiple instruments on the same song as this never sounds like a creation, but instead comes across very much as a band. I do have to make a special mention of “Hollow Man” as while there is chaos taking place underneath, there is a section where Michele King provides some wordless vocals which means it comes across as an amalgam of a Sixties British series and old-time cheesy cinema adverts. George is used rather sparingly, which means that when he does make an entrance, he makes quite an impact as he is an incredibly dynamic player, but often it is just Dave and Jerry, and there are even sections where it is just one or the other. Some of the material sounds as if it doesn’t really belong on the album, such as “Forever The Moon” which is quite lightweight in its approach while opener “90 Mile Island” was originally called “Pop Song”, yet somehow everything mixes and blends together to create yet another thoroughly enjoyable album from the guys. Check them out on Bandcamp, as there is nothing to lose and much to gain.