Dreamy songs punctuated by eerie sounds
In these days of playlists and piecemeal consumption of music, Feuerstack has crafted an opus that is worthy of listening to at a single sitting; with most of the ten tracks weighing in at circa three minutes, this is not too onerous a demand of your time. Written, played, recorded and mixed by himself, Feuerstack creates a series of introspective and mellow songs to provide a space in which to contemplate the strangeness of our lives.
The opening track, ‘I used to be a singer’ contains the lines, “I used to be a singer bumping around in the astral plane, picking up astro trash to polish it up again” this seems a neat metaphor to describe the songs here which contain fleeting impressions and sounds. Resigned at times to how things are, the nature of time is explored with several of the songs giving the impression of being adrift in both time and space. Sonically the space is punctuated by fragments of conversation and strange noises that subtly add to the vague sense of eerieness that pervades the album. The title track, ‘Harmonize the Moon’ with its jazzy lilt could be a song featured in a long-forgotten movie. Some of the extraterrestrial-like sounds inhabiting the soundscape come and go like flashes of light hinting at some greater meaning or purpose; oddly these sounds can sometimes feel comforting maybe because our lives are full of extraneous sound that forms a backdrop to our existence.
A variety of moods have been created here, though the tempo seldom raises itself to greater exertion than a gentle stroll. After listening to the cycle of songs, it can feel like another world has been entered, at once familiar and strange; a fine testament to this songwriter’s work.
