One more Cloak & Dagger bit, which will wrap up this slight detour I’ve travelled the past three days. This post also doubles as a song recommend, since I’ve only got the solo clip featured.
“White Rose” is its name, and comes courtesy of San Francisco-based psych outfit Moon Duo, who found themselves at the start of the bill for Day 2 of the first Cloak & Dagger Festival. That was back on October 21st, 2017 at the Globe Theatre in DTLA, the same day yesterday’s guest stars She Wants Revenge ended the festivities.
Fresh off their fourth LP., “Occult Architecture, Vol, 1,” which at the time would’ve been brand spankin’ new, “White Rose” functions as a kaleidoscopic drone of rollin’ and ramblin’ hypnotism. It tops out at 10-plus minutes, and never overstays its welcome, lulling you deeper and deeper into its repetitive trance-induced rhythms. It’s full of saturated color, electronic manipulation of six-string elaboration, weaving in oscillations of organ keys and expansive, expressive stream-of-conscious rifts. It’s as cosmically acidic and spaced-out as I’d want smooth-groovin’ psychedlic rock to be.
It’s also a bit out of phase for a coldwave/darkwave festival, perhaps better suited to the soundscapes of Desert Daze. In fact, guitarist/founder Ripley Johnson’s other band Wooden Shjips performed at that event back in the fall of ’18. So maybe he’s just trying something different, looking to broaden a few shadowed minds … add a little color to the black decor.
On stage, Moon Duo is completed by keyboardist Sanae Yamada and drummer John Jeffrey, which actually makes them a trio. But who’s counting.
The performance I recorded only captures about two-thirds of its runtime. And ever since, I’ve been hoping to fill in the missing gaps. Of course, until the pandemic truly and permanently resides, I realize I’ll be waiting a few more beats. But thankfully, I have what I have, and it’s sufficient tease to relive, revive, and dive ever further into the psychedelic aura of Moon Duo.
Here’s Moon Duo performing “White Rose” at Cloak & Dagger in DTLA’s Globe Theatre back in Oct. of ’17.
Moon Duo perform “White Rose” at Cloak & Dagger at the Globe Theatre in DTLA on 10.21.17.
And I’ll start the embeds with the full track from YouTube, since “White Rose” works best in its entirety. Spotify’s excerpt follows. Enjoy!
“White Rose from the 2017 album “Occult Architecture, Vol. 1.”
