Rating: NNN
Excitable rockers Spiral Beach dominated Toronto’s mid-00s all-ages scene with their bouncy, kaleidoscopic guitar pop. They broke up a few years ago, but people who thought they’d peaked by the time they hit their 20s were mistaken the members have gone on to join some of Toronto and Montreal’s most buzzy acts. Dorian Wolf is in Austra, Maddy Wilde just joined Odonis Odonis and Airick Woodhead is gaining steam as Doldrums.
Now it’s time for the elder Woodhead, Daniel, to join the party. The one-time Spiral Beach drummer has reconvened with Wilde to release his first “official” 12-inch EP as Moon King (following the cassette-only Big Dumb Blue Angel), and it’s a promising morsel of dream-pop. Catchy hooks and simple, bouncy chord progressions combine with electronic percussion and bits of synth, while heavily treated dual vocals lend an air of melancholy to the five songs. Simultaneously nostalgic, disorienting and melodic.
Top track: Sleeping In My Car
