Moon Darling

Moon Darling

MOON DARLING | "BY THE LIGHT OF THE MOON" EP | S/R | JAN. 26th, 2018

 

Bio:

Moon Darling is one of those bands that captures you with a single image before you’ve even pressed play. “Pressed” play vs. “clicked” play, for a reason. In the digital age, the Seattle-based foursome’s smoky sound emerges from an era when guitars mattered. When riffs ruled. When guys named Slash wrote “licks.”

Taking it back even further, Moon Darling’s Michael Julian Escobar – don’t let his lack of a one syllable stage name deter you – started on guitar by learning Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid.”

Listen to this monumental two minutes and 48 seconds right now for effect, we’ll wait.

Back? Devil horns? Good.

Escobar’s fierce fretwork on the upcoming Moon Darling EP "By The Light of The Moon” (Jan. 26th, 2018) is matched by some Madison Square Garden-level vocals. Style and substance converge under a head of hair that gives Escobar a Brian May look with a Plant-Jagger swagger. See where this is going? Escobar is a living reference to some classic guitar greats, and some of the most legit of music history’s preening front men, too.

With all respect to the sensitive egos of rock n’ roll band leaders everywhere, Moon Darling’s compelling presentation isn’t all Escobar. In fact, the not-so-hidden ace here is likely drummer, Michelle Nuño.

No one wants to belabor the concept that a rock band of dudes with a female drummer is merely “interesting,” because what’s actually interesting here is Nuño’s drumming itself. Her playing is truly accompaniment, in the grandest sense of the word. The songs on "By The Light of The Moon" would simply not be the same without Nuño’s contributions, and knowing that she formed Moon Darling with Escobar lends weight to how important she is to his tunes.

Nuño’s playing punctuates these songs, or more so they “punktuate” (a “punctuate” pun that actually contains the word pun!) them, adding the attitude, no doubt derived from her days of wearing heavy eyeliner in heavier bands, that add urgency to Moon Darling’s more psychedelic leanings.

Bass guitarist, Jack Jay (a proper name for a bass player, right?!) lays it down as you would expect someone with the perfect bass player moniker of “Jack Jay” would. Sneaky, winding, but always in the pocket. It’s Jay who is first heard on the new record, with a line that sounds like it’s soundtracking a detective novel.

Moon Darling is rounded out by keyboardist, Matthew Buckner, who the rest of the band labels as “mysterious,” providing little additional info, which frankly, is just perfect.

One of Seattle’s most respected and embedded music journalists, Dave Segal, described Moon Darling for venerable local weekly The Stranger by saying that the band plays “a fluid, controlled strain of psych rock” that “tweaks your nostalgia ganglia for Stone Roses’ more subdued moments.”

All very true, and if any band’s music inspires the invoking of the phrase “nostalgia ganglia” (literally the only piece of music writing on the internet that uses it), then your band is doing something very right.

And seriously, any artist that claims three bands as far flung as Led Zeppelin, Hall & Oates, and Tame Impala as influences, while also being compared by a career music scribe to Stone Roses, simply can’t be about image alone. Except Moon Darling has that nailed, as well.

"By The Light of The Moon," the latest from Seattle-based band, Moon Darling arrives on Jan. 26th, 2018 preceded by the EP’s title track, streaming now.

NEWS:

PRESS QUOTES:

Reminiscent of the bewitching psych rock of the 70s; Escobar’s vocals coupled with the groovy guitar riff make for an infectious tune that won’t leave your head.
— Tom Tom Mag
A fluid, controlled strain of psych rock. Tweaks your nostalgia ganglia for Stone Roses’ more subdued moments.
— The Stranger (Seattle)
Saucy and stylish. Arena-ready ambiance. Back-alley, cig-smoking swagger.
— City Arts (Seattle)
The psychedelic ’70s gets spun into the modern world. Dreamy and fluid. Intense and captivating.
— The Big Takeover
Superb, groovy music. On repeat for the rest of the week.
— MAGNET
The spirit of ’70s-era rock ‘n’ roll. Climactic and mesmerizing, with some stellar guitar solos.
— Treble
A bluesy sound that harkens back to that classic ’70s rock howl. Channeling the influence of bands like Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.
— Nooga.com
Gently hallucinogenic.
— The Revue

TOUR DATES:

  • 2/23/2018: Bellingham, WA @ Mind Palace
  • 2/24/2018: Olympia, WA @ Pig Bar
  • 2/25/2018: Salem, OR @ Space
  • 2/26/2018: Arcata, CA @ The Jam
  • 2/27/2018: San Francisco, CA @ Brick & Mortar
  • 2/28/2017: San Francisco, CA @ Milk Bar
  • 3/2/2018: Los Angeles, CA @ Hotel Cafe
  • 3/3/2018: Los Angeles, CA @ Redwood Bar
  • 3/4/2017: Reno, NV @ Loving Cup
  • 3/5/2018: Bend, OR @ Volcanic Theatre
  • 3/16/2018: Seattle, WA @ Barboza

PRESS RELEASES:

ON THE WEB:

Assets:

Moon Darling (L-R): Michael Julian Escobar, Michelle Nuño, Jack Jay, Matthew Buckner. Photo credit: Andrew Imanaka. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Michael Julian Escobar, Michelle Nuño, Jack Jay, Matthew Buckner. Photo credit: Andrew Imanaka. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Matthew Buckner, Michelle Nuño, Michael Julian Escobar, Jack Jay. Photo credit: Spacecraft Presents. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Matthew Buckner, Michelle Nuño, Michael Julian Escobar, Jack Jay. Photo credit: Spacecraft Presents. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Matthew Buckner, Michelle Nuño, Michael Julian Escobar, Jack Jay. Photo credit: Spacecraft Presents. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Matthew Buckner, Michelle Nuño, Michael Julian Escobar, Jack Jay. Photo credit: Spacecraft Presents. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Jack Jay, Michelle Nuño, Matthew Buckner, Michael Julian Escobar. Photo credit: Michael Julian Escobar. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Jack Jay, Michelle Nuño, Matthew Buckner, Michael Julian Escobar. Photo credit: Michael Julian Escobar. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Michelle Nuño, Jack Jay, Michael Julian Escobar, Matthew Buckner. Photo credit: Skyler Locatelli. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Michelle Nuño, Jack Jay, Michael Julian Escobar, Matthew Buckner. Photo credit: Skyler Locatelli. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Jack Jay, Michael Julian Escobar, Michelle Nuño, Matthew Buckner. Photo credit: Michael Julian Escobar. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R): Jack Jay, Michael Julian Escobar, Michelle Nuño, Matthew Buckner. Photo credit: Michael Julian Escobar. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R):  Michelle Nuño, Jack Jay, Matthew Buckner, Michael Julian Escobar. Photo credit: Jake Hansen. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R):  Michelle Nuño, Jack Jay, Matthew Buckner, Michael Julian Escobar. Photo credit: Jake Hansen. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R):  Matthew Buckner, Jack Jay, Michael Julian Escobar, Michelle Nuño. Photo credit: Andrew Imanaka. Click for hi-res.

Moon Darling (L-R):  Matthew Buckner, Jack Jay, Michael Julian Escobar, Michelle Nuño. Photo credit: Andrew Imanaka. Click for hi-res.

"By The Light of The Moon" EP cover art. Click for hi-res.

"By The Light of The Moon" EP cover art. Click for hi-res.