Modern Moonlight

The Early Years release their new album, Modern Moonlight, via Sonic Cathedral. It’s their first in a decade and just their third in 20 years, following their eponymous debut for Beggars Banquet in 2006 and II, which was released on Sonic Cathedral in 2016 and recently named as one of Uncut’s Greatest Albums of the 2010s.

It was worth the wait. It’s a stunning mix of Davids Bowie and Byrne, John Cage, Conny Plank, Brian Eno, Radiohead. “All the usual stuff,” says nominal frontman Dave Malkinson. “Loved ones and Italian red wine played a part, too, Oblique Strategies…”

There is nothing particularly oblique about the ten tracks here, though. ‘A New Way Of Living’ is a nod to not only Berlin-era Bowie, but also their own single ‘Like A Suicide’, the band’s first release for Sonic Cathedral back in 2008. The febrile funk of ‘Get Up Get Out’ is like The Stooges recoding the DNA of ‘Here Come The Warm Jets’. ‘The River’ – which snuck out as a single late last year – aims for an Eno / Moroder cross, but ends up sounding like James Holden. ‘Heaven Over There’ is huge and heartbreaking, a ballad for our times, up there with The Verve or even Elbow at their most anthemic and vulnerable. ‘Tired Eyes’, meanwhile, recalls ‘Fading Frontier’-era Deerhunter.

The start of the second half ups the tempo. ‘Shimmering Stone’ mixes LCD Soundsystem with what sounds like Gregorian chants. ‘The Gift’ sounds like a party in a studio, which it was, recorded at Monnow Valley in South Wales. ‘Three Quarters’ is a Beta Band meets A Certain Ratio-style groove based around a simple Steve Reich-esque loop with timbales. The title track is inspired by the more acoustic Verve tracks on ‘No Come Down’ and closer ‘Silver Lips (Champagne Eyes)’ sparkles and fizzes across its two halves, with vocals by Lorena Quintanilla from labelmates Lorelle Meets The Obsolete.

“I wanted the album to be called ‘III’, but the others vetoed that,” says guitarist Roger Mackin. “‘Modern Moonlight’ came about at 2am when we were writing the song.”

“Heroes don’t stand in sunlight anymore, they stand in the bluish glare of a phone at 2am wondering if anyone else is listening or even awake,” expands drummer Phil Raines. “Moonlight is not a thing, it’s a condition, light that has already touched something else. It’s borrowed. Reflected. Slightly late. It is the expectation of the present arriving after we’ve moved.

“So, this is not about our moon. It’s about how we’re all responding to the world we’ve found ourselves living in, hoping for utopia, but realising we’re all late to the party.”

In the case of ‘Modern Moonlight’, it’s better late than never.