Super Pink Moon return with a multi-faceted gem with their new album Iron Rain!
I don’t think I take the time often enough to think about how lucky I am. I don’t have to worry about clean drinking water or where my next meal is coming from and I also (at this point in time anyway!) don’t have to worry about the spectre of war having over me. I cannot comprehend what an utterly horrifying situation that must be. So, when Ihor Pryshliak (lead singer of personal favourites Somali Yacht Club) releases a new album under the moniker of Super Pink Moon which was written half before the war and half after it started, I felt the need to give it a listen to try and understand what must have been going through his head - even if it’s in an incredibly small way, like I said before, I simply cannot comprehend what it must be like.
Opening song “Nothing is Real” is very much a wolf in sheep’s clothing, taking a dreamy Shoegaze and Post Rock bedrock and draping bewildering lyrics about anxiety over the top. Then the next song “Everything” comes along and sounds like how a Stone Roses song would sound if John Squire was allowed to get a heavy. It almost sounds like a conscious decision on Ihor’s part to discombobulate the listener, lulling them into his gravity with those buttery soft crooned lyrics and twinkling shoegazing guitars before unleashing the hidden underbelly of crushing heaviness and deep lyrics which require serious thought to unpack.
From the propulsive instrumental track “ForwardBreakForward” which positively rocks along in its brisk three minutes running time, to the pulsating ambience of “Calmness” which brings more interest and accessibility than a song of this type has any right to. Each track is a masterful fusion of different genres and styles. The emotional depth of this album are also staggering: whether exploring themes of love, loss or the struggle for personal growth, Super Pink Moon’s lyrics are both introspective and universal, touching on the raw emotions that we can all relate to. It’s hard not to think about what must have been happening in the background to the making of this album whilst listening to it, but that just adds an additional layer of emotional connection that is almost tangible.
Each element of the music is carefully crafted to create an immersive listening experience and the end result is captivating. Ihor has gone on record to state ”I’m feeling much better, and this record is a kind of snapshot of the ‘self-curing’ process. After our victory, I don’t think I’d ever listen to this record again, too many emotions.” Well, even if Ihor won’t listen to his record, I hope many people do because it’s great. It’s both beautiful and thought-provoking and deserves a big audience.
I don’t think I’m any closer to understanding what it must have been like to be in the situation Ihor found himself in when writing this album, but that’s because I’m ill-equipped to do so due to my experiences in this life’s journey so far, not due to the song-craft of Ihor, which is exemplary. It’s not going to stop me from trying though, even if in doing so I hurt myself during the process, I think it’s important to put yourself in other people’s shoes once in a while to feel what they felt, even if it’s uncomfortable - but at least in this case, I’m helped along the way by some dreamy music!
