Moon High

Moon High put out a tranquil, plucky debut in 2008, and the band recently started recording again. David Fowler and Ryan Wells still never rush anything, but the new stuff is a little more layered and a little more upbeat. That was true live, as well, with Wells adding some Ebow on his electric and Summer Sherman adding more flute than I remembered.


I especially liked the new stuff Fowler sang, which had more of a country influence that served to dampen any lingering Devendra Banhart vibe. Suffice to say, I still like Moon High, and I’m excited about how the foursome is progressing. - The Other Paper

The music of mellow Columbus folksters Moon High is as warm and peaceful as those glowing orbs the band brings along to their shows. (And any extra warmth will be welcome on Friday night…) This new track follows in the same mold as Moon High’s self-titled debut, but more layered/textured, more prominent female harmony, etc. Good stuff. “Smoke Before My Eyes” and another track, “On and On,” will be on a new 7? due out in the coming months from Akron’s Smoke Signals (Main St. Gospel, Buffalo Killers). - donewaiting.com

"These Ohioans make utterly transcendent Indie Folk that shimmers with organic grace. The five-piece should be the next favorite band of everyone entranced by the current Indie Folk revolution. Moon High's self-titled album (recently released in a gorgeously-packaged, handmade second edition, complete with Moonflower seeds) has attracted a lot of attention, largely by word of mouth. The band has been the toast of several music blogs, the modern day equivalent of Alan Freed taking a shine to your record promotion man's free and loose cash flow. Expect big things." - City Beat Magazine

"...We can't help thinking the Pernice Brothers with a little more nodding to the Phil Spector 'Wall of Sound' aesthetic. We really love it...and we're emailing people today about how they should sign this band." - MTV2 Subterranean Blog

"...The next night he saw Moon High, a stellar folk group that took the stage at SkyLab. As far as the many connected strains of freak folk, this sounds closest to Vetiver. It's a low-key mix of banjo, smooth vocals and brushed percussion. You'll be hearing more about these guys soon." - Columbus Alive

My dear friend Daniel Arnold, who has written some lovely words for this here site, has an odd love affair with California. He's never lived there, but every time he visits he manages to come back with tales so sun dappled and full of reverie you would swear he was born on Big Sur and offered up as Lion King to the wildflower gods. I like to think that Daniel's soundtrack sounds something like Moon High when he's out there in the great wide open. Moon High is from Dayton, Ohio, but the music is infused with sunlight, the crunch of sand beneath your feet and the faint scent of lilac in the breeze blowing through your hair so you'd just about swear they were from the Golden State.

Moon High is the perfect soundtrack to your summer. If you're lying on a blanket in a field, on the beach as the sun sets, driving along country roads looking at corn fields or flying high over the clouds these fellas know how to make you feel the sunshine on your face. Moon High is 8 tracks of pure beauty and if you get your hands on it, it's very likely it won't leave your car stereo/ipod/turntable as long as you feel like taking off your shoes and running through sprinklers.

-Christen Thomas - RCRD LBL

Moon High, on the other hand, has created and fully embraced a unique identity. The local band’s ultra-mellow, organic folk--an odd contrast with Chairlift’s synth-heavy sounds--is unlike any other band in Columbus, and you’d have trouble finding an equivalent outside of Ohio, too. People like to lump Moon High in with freak-folk bands, and David Fowler and Ryan Wells may take some inspiration from that scene, but reducing the band to that label does it a disservice.

Fowler and Wells shared lead vocal duties and switched between various acoustic guitars, banjo and cello throughout the set, accompanied by flute and violin at times from the two female background singers. Moon High completes its aesthetic visually with a couple of large, foot-switchable, white globe lights that I find more warm and peaceful than gimmicky.

Just about all of the band’s songs have a mournful vibe, and that consistency does come with a small price. If you head to a Moon High show with some sleep debt, the tranquility of “Lying Here, Dying Here,” “Where You Go” and other songs can become a bit drowsy. But these guys aren’t trying to shake the rafters, so I have a feeling that if you kicked back and closed your eyes at a show, they might take it more as a compliment than an insult.

-Joel Oliphant - Don't Just Do Something, Stand There

Moon High, why were you hiding from me? I had seen the name listed on a few shows recently but I hadn’t really been paying attention. But all that is about to change.

They first caught my attention this weekend at the merch booth. Their lovingly crafted packaging of the album seemed like it took an hour just to put one together: a sewn slipcase, pins, screenprinting, it blew my mind. This CD is individually numbered and they made 100 of them....

Their self-titled debut album has a lazy California folk pop quality that is easy to fall into the groove. It’s not a stretch to suggest that fans of Mercury Rev, Sufjan Stevens and Magnetic Fields will really dig this.

Head on over to their website where you can hear all of the songs, purchase the album, and see upcoming tour dates. Expect us to talk about this band a lot in the future.

-Robert Duffy - donewaiting.com

If you didn’t know that Moon High was from Ohio, you might think they make their music somewhere on a secluded California beach, dividing time between recording and exploring the rock formations in the ocean. There’s a casual beauty that sweeps the entire record that feels warm and breezy. A perfect album to get us through the winter.

-Robert Duffy - donewaiting.com