Albums to watch

Occult Architecture Vol 1

Moon Duo

Occult Architecture Vol 1

Fifth album of ambient psychedelic rock from Wooden Shjips guitarist Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada

ADM rating[?]

7.2

Label
Sacred Bones
UK Release date
03/02/2017
US Release date
03/02/2017
  1. 9.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    A record that, rather than personifying the expectant inner surge that accompanies daybreak (that’ll surely be left to Vol. 2) yields to the dark energy of a transporting, heavy dusk
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  2. 9.0 |   The Quietus

    Moon Duo’s psychedelic krautrock space jams offer more than mere entertainment; their almost physical relentlessness and swirling depths dispense some sort of cerebral, if not spiritual, nourishment
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  3. 8.0 |   Gig Soup

    ??Psychedelic space rock that is by turns relentless and insistent, occasionally unrelenting and unremitting at the same time, as it ponders the dark seasonal energy of the northern hemisphere
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  4. 8.0 |   The Line Of Best Fit

    An album of woozy nuggets of sonic delirium
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  5. 8.0 |   The Skinny

    What is surprising is how this darker direction unearths a hitherto unearthed pop sensibility in Moon Duo
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  6. 8.0 |   Uncut

    This is pretty funky stuff, with a tight and bouncy tone throughout. Print edition only

  7. 8.0 |   Mojo

    These are top space-jams. Print edition only

  8. 7.1 |   Pitchfork

    The latest LP from Moon Duo builds on their psychedelic formula—corroded guitars, kraut rhythms, steely grit—and allows them to indulge their most sinister tendencies
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  9. 7.0 |   musicOMH

    A worthy instalment in the Moon Duo canon and a fine record on its own terms
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  10. 7.0 |   The 405

    The more challenging half of the record may still to be released, but judging by the vibrant band on display on Volume 1, we need not worry
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  11. 7.0 |   Exclaim

    Occult Architecture Vol. 1 isn't as daring as its literary influences would suggest, but it succeeds often, particularly when it varies from its central sounds.
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  12. 7.0 |   The Music

    It definitely feels like a journey into darkness; The Death Set, Cult Of Moloch and White Rose placing the listener on the shadier side of the Moon Duo cosmos. Bring on Vol 2
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  13. 7.0 |   Loud And Quiet

    Ripley Johnson and Sanae Yamada continue to draw on the same touchstones that have shaped their sound to date
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  14. 6.2 |   Earbuddy

    Occult Architecture Vol. 1 is built strong like Moon Duo’s previous efforts, but cracks are definitely there
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  15. 6.0 |   The Guardian

    Undoubtedly one for the purists, but it’s hard not to admire their focus
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  16. 6.0 |   All Music

    This feels less like a step in any direction than it does a pleasantly trippy holding pattern
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  17. 5.0 |   Spectrum Culture

    Occult Architecture isn’t a fatal flaw in the MD oeuvre, just a step that disappoints at times while still managing to provide glimpses of the pair’s raw, and considerable, powers
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