Moon Pigeon

Rating: 5/5 Mexican Wrestling Masks

Space travel or aviation phenomena aside, Miami’s Moon Pigeon eschews the nomenclature’s ready-made cryptic allusion for a well-versed and thoroughly studied ’90s sound. There’s a lot proving here that hindsight is 20/20. For the members of the quartet, all veterans of South Florida’s music scene, this is a project that could only have evolved if they were of a certain age and of a certain musical proclivity.

We are far removed enough nowadays to look back on the decade with a different set of glasses on, and though the musical output of that era is clogged with an astronomic tonnage of garbage, we are also afforded the luxury of fully investigating the hidden gems at our leisure. Moon Pigeon has, and their sound, likable now and for sure stylistically in place were it to be dropped without announcement circa ’96, is a distilling of such knowledge.

But this is neither parody nor homage; it’s taking existing talent and letting it be influenced in a controlled environment. To my knowledge, Moon Pigeon has thus far been strictly a studio project for vocalist/guitarist Mike Hernandez (ex-Wallop), guitarist Oscar Rodriguez (ex-Black Line Grind), bassist Gaston de la Vega (Hit Play!, ex-The Stop Motion) and drummer Brandon Leidel (Jorges), and one can see that they’ve operated with zero rush, nor have they been defined by guidelines.

This is a product of comradeship and chemistry. It could be fun to see exactly what the individual influences are per member, but this five-song EP stands as a perfect amalgam of styles. There’s something progressive that skirts into shoegaze but has the meaty backbone of rock and roll. There’s loft here too, and loft is good, especially when it works to elevate vocals and guitars. I’m a sucker for levels and I hate when elements compete for attention and affection. That doesn’t happen here; everything is refreshingly crisp and discerned.

That doesn’t mean that they don’t bring oomph and bomp with the appropriate execution and effects when needed. That’s the best part of this being the result of a studio project; it can be tinkered with, though the downside can be that it can also be tinkered with beyond the realm of necessity. Let’s hope that doesn’t happen here. These five songs are enjoyable as they stand, with the airy “Chronora” and the surreptitiously droning alt gem, “Parallels,” locking my focus.

[A little fun fact: One of the songs on this EP was mixed by Failure’s Ken Andrews after the EP was pressed. That’s some ’90s royalty for you].

As an EP, this is a perfect calling card should these guys choose to forge on and tackle a full-length, or heck, maybe even play live. Also, with many ’90s outfits of note making the touring rounds again, I can see them in a support capacity at the national level. You can make purchase inquiries for this disc here. - TuffGnarl.com - Uncovering Pop Culture's Hidden Gems

Rating: 4.5 Stars

With only two years of collaboration, the Florida four-piece with the intriguing moniker Moon Pigeon has already built up an impressive fan base with slowly leaking studio material and a constant live presense. Debuting their sef-titled EP, the band introduces us to a sound that feels simultaneously lifted from the 90's alt/prog leanings of Tool and Deftones as it does modernized in its creative flourishes that remind this listener of a personal favorite, Fair To Midland.

Indeed, the impact that Moon Pigeon leaves is less one of over-the-top instrumentation than it is an organically sound group of musicians who know exactly what their aiming for and coalesce in the pursuit. Listen closely to the cohesion in the weighty "Chronora" and you'll notice this immediately. Much credit to guitarist Oscar Rodriguez for his swirling riffage and post-rock-esque repetitve lines that add atmosphere atop the already thick soundscape the rhythm section builds. "Hold Your Eyes" is a perfect example of the latter, and leaves a better impression of vocalist Mike Hernandez's snaking melodies that weave expertly into the music. With a lyrical approach that composes metaphor with subtly direct meaning, it can be easy to overlook this aspect of Moon Pigeon but it adds yet another layer to their wall of progressively-tilted sound picture. While each of these five tracks has plenty to offer, "Letters From Thieves" and the aforementioned "Hold Your Eyes" represent the high water mark of the set, each shining representations of a band firing on all cylinders.

Rarely does an opening shot hit the mark so well. Fans of the above mentioned influences/similar artists will not want to miss this young and fast-rising band's offerings, as they so clearly have what it takes to create music that leaves more than one impactful mark. As smart as it is strong and chemically able to mix both into a singular form, Moon Pigeon are very clearly able to do what too few bands of their ilk can do and as a result deserve the immediate attention of anyone remotely interested in well crafted rock/metal. - Music eMissions - musicemissions.com - Rate, Recommend, Review