THE RULE OF THREE

The Finnish space rock band MOONWAGON has become a trio after the departure of keyboardist Ami Hassinen. The keys on this recent release are shared by guitarist Joni Tiala and bassist Janne Ylikorpi. The album may not have quite as wide sonic pallette as the excellent Foyers of the Future (2012), but it's pleasantly varied, a little more oriented to string instruments (dulcimer and mandolin accompany the guitars). Perhaps one could say that the trio's music is a bit more "down to earth", but nevertheless it still offers fine moments of intelligent space rock.

There are only six tracks with varied lengths. One of them, 'Run to the Sun', features vocals of drummer Jani Korpi. This song has a steady uptempo beat and the vocals make it sound like a vintage HAWKWIND rocker. It is OK in its simple honesty but I'm glad the band didn't go further in that direction. The opening track, starting with a rough, low whisper "The ending is just the beginning" is a typical slice of space rock, built on repetitive riffs (comparable to PHARAOH OVERLORD) and at one point decorated with ghostly echoing notes (reminiscent of some moments of e.g. 'Remember the Future' by NEKTAR or 'Echoes' by PINK FLOYD).

The less psychedelic 'Forgotten by Time' has maginificent contributions of great-sounding bass and soloing electric guitar. 'Fresh Avocados' is a brief and lighthearted acoustic number led by mandolin and percussion. 'Skylines at Night' is nice, like meeting an old friend because the sound and certain melodic lines remind me of Signals-era RUSH (that album was among my earliest listenings, by the way). There is a mild progressive unpredictability within the 8-minute length. The prog expectations are biggest on the 17-minute 'The Journey Back Home'. A hurriless tempo... electric guitar weaving its psychedelic-flavoured solos... a change in dynamics... Here and there I feel that the track is lingering in a slightly tiresome jam-like approach, but in the end it is quite interesting and progressive.

This is a good album that shows MOONWAGON still going strong. As usual, the rounding of my 3½ stars is based on the design. Can't say I'd like the photos from a brutally decayed house full of junk.

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