EAST OF THE SUN & WEST OF THE MOON

A good EP. They are a young and new band from the US called It's Not Night: It's Space, who as the title suggests, play music oriented to the psychedelic and space side of rock. Last year (2011) they released their first EP, entitled "East of the Sun & West of the Moon" which can be downloaded via Bandcamp in the pay-what-you-want mode. As far as I know, the band is currently working in what would be their first full-length album, which I am sure will be interesting.

This EP consists of four songs that together make a total time of 28 minutes. It opens with "Moon Goose", an eight-minute track that shows that psych/stoner sound of this trio. It is repetitive but while the seconds pass they add new figures and elements, so the song is never plain nor boring. The three basic instruments (bass, guitar, drums) are enough to keep the listener interested in this krautrock inspired track. After four minutes it changes a little bit, we can listen to nice guitar riffs and a heavy sound full of energy.

"V.I.T.R.I.O.L." reaches almost nine minutes. It starts slow, again with a repetitive but hypnotic sound that little by little is getting us into it, however I must say that the music is not that easy to dig, because you can either, get really interested, or maybe bored after a couple of minutes. There are moments where the intensity increases, and the raw, krautrock-like, psychedelic sound always prevail.

"Soul of Each, God of All" is a new example of what they have been offering so far, though musically is different, the essence is the same and it does not add anything completely new here which is a two-edge knife, because in one side we may say they have their own style and sound, but in the other, that they are repetitive and don't have a vast repertoire to offer. I stay with the first one, because they are talented and have a particular sound that I trust will be developed in their full-length album.

This EP closes with "I Amness" which happens to be the shortest composition with only four minutes. This is also the only different track, and without a doubt, the weakest of them all. Here they experimented and put a strange song with some noises as background, along with some vocals speaking. I honestly don't understand the mission of this track.

Not a bad EP at all, but I feel they have plenty to offer in the near future, this is just an introduction to their music, and I trust their studio album will have more priceless moments. For now, I think this EP would be only for fans of the genre, so my final grade is two stars.

Enjoy it!