Relatively supple and yet capable of filling the entire room with an ambient textural expressiveness not as common as it used to be in alternative pop/rock, the guitars in Red Matter’s “Light of the Moon” are arguably even more poetic than its lyrics are. Mixed as to be the center of our attention for the bulk of this brand-new single, there’s scarcely a moment when they aren’t the most evocative element to behold here. That said, vibrant strings and eclectic harmonies are but one of the many gems in this treasure chest of tonality; in all honesty, this is one of the smarter new indie pop songs I’ve listened to this spring, as well as one of the more well-rounded in general.
I love the thick, low-end tones in this mix. By emphasizing the bottom more than they did any of the soft, gentle facetings at the top of the EQ, Red Matter was able to make the lead vocal all the more vulnerable here, which is saying something given the nature of the lyrics it conveys. Everything in this single strikes me as having been designed specifically with the notion of inducing chills in almost anyone who picks up “Light of the Moon” this April – fitted with as much of an honest framework as it is something more accessible to the casual pop fan, you could make a case for this being one of the more flexible alternative hybrid releases to make any sort of waves in 2023.
Though the lyricism gets a tad conventional by comparison to the instrumental components at work here, the vocal that Red Matter affords every word defines the subtle emotions in this poetry. There are a lot of bands in the soft rock realm that have been trying to capture the same passionate essence through juxtaposition that this band is owning so handily in “Light of the Moon,” but I can’t say that I’ve come across very many in their peer group that have been able to balance this desire with a disciplined style of attack. They’ve already got a leg up on most of their closest competitors in the underground – at least in this department – and that alone makes this an interesting story to follow at the moment.
If Red Matter’s future is going to sound anything like what I’m hearing in the new single “Light of the Moon,” this is one new and intriguing group that is going to be seeing a lot of success ahead. “Light of the Moon” is a deeply provocative work from a band who has a lot to share with the world, and with a little more time and cultivation of their craft in-studio, I think Red Matter is going to produce some sensational beats in the years still to come. This is a good jumping-off point, and provided they can continue on the present creative trajectory they’re on, there’s plenty of reason to believe that this won’t be the only hit with indie audiences they submit during their career.
Heather Savage