REVIEWSThe Soft Moon, ‘Total Decay’

8

• SPIN Rating:8 of 10

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Release Date: November 1, 2011
Label: Captured Tracks

The Soft Moon's ineluctable reference point is Joy Division, but while many Factory Records disciples mimic Ian Curtis' bass-baritone delivery, this industrial-goth project from San Francisco's Luis Vasquez focuses on producer Martin Hannett's nervous, isolated terror. Total Decay, a four-track EP that follows 2010's overlooked, self-titled debut, is the sound of human silence once the machines have assumed control: "Visions" is a heat-wave cantata of robot cicadas, "Repetition" is krautrock narrated by a bionic armpit fart, and "Alive" is what Gollum's "my precious" monologue would've sounded like if Lord of the Rings had been a musical. Dear All Tomorrow's Parties: Book this band immediately and meet your future.