Let’s start the evening with The Soft Moon, a post-punk coldwave barnstormer of a band from the Bay Area, as in San Francisco, or more specifically Oakland. I first caught wind of these guys at last year’s Cloak & Dagger Festival in Los Angeles. I had no idea who they were. Only knew their name. And when they started playing … holy shit! They just blew me away.
Now, The Soft Moon might not be everyone’s cup-of-tea. But I spent a lot of time in the old industrial and goth scene. So my comfort zone is a bit more accommodating. And these guys are a logical progression of that era. The production is slicker. The music is a bit less abrasive. But the energy and the attitude are all there.
The song that stuck out was “Far,” a fist-pounding whirl of a rhythm that literally drives you to lose your shit … in the best possible way. It’s filled with otherworldly guitars that knock you off balance and thick synths that tweak your perceptions. And it’s all accompanied by frontman Luis Vasquez’s angst-laden vocals, whispered and shouted all at once, if such a thing is possible.
Here’s “Far” by The Soft Moon, as well as the tail end of their Cloak & Dagger rendition. I’ve also included the full version performed at the Teragram Ballroom, earlier this year.
Enjoy!
“Far” from the2015 album “Deeper.”
“Far” at last year’s Cloak & Dagger Festival at the Globe Theatre on 10.21.17.
The Soft Moon perform “Far” at last year’s Cloak & Dagger on 10.21.17.
And again at the Teragram Ballroom earlier this year on 04.13.18.
The Soft Moon perform “Far” earlier this year at the Teragram Ballroom on 04.13.18.
