The first name that came to my mind when I saw this band was ‘Radiohead’, no less and not much more, my brain was stuck, as the three (or sometimes four) young guys on stage were building pretty and quite catchy atmospheric textures, which were often reminding me those of the British giant.
I didn’t say I didn’t enjoy Half Moon Run’s set at First Unitarian Church on Wednesday night, where they were opening for Patrick Watson. On the contrary, they were quite interesting to listen to – and to look at by the way,… some good looking young Canadians! However, it was a little distracting and I had a hard time to concentrate on their own music as I was constantly drawing parallels. These obsessive, hypnotic and ethereal guitar melodies, these soaring harmonies or moaning plaintive voice, their sound sounded right away extremely familiar, although I had never heard of them before.
They were certainly less focused on electronics than Radiohead and were more pop-folk oriented with their keys-guitar-drum combination, but wow, why wouldn’t anyone have thought of Thom York during their songs ‘No More Losing the War’, ‘She Wants to Know’, ‘Full Circle’, ‘Give up’, for example, it sounded unreal sometimes, especially since the main singer, Devon Portielje, had a tendency to be moving languishingly and sinuously his arms in the air like Thom Yorke in his famous ‘Lotus Flower’ video. The hat worn by his bandmate wasn't helping to chase the Yorke ghost either, beside this, he bore a slight resemblance to Leonardo DiCaprio, and I am talking about hot Titanic Leo, not 2012 Leo.
Okay, I am pushing the comparison a little too much because they were not entirely Radiohead, some songs were obviously showing other sides of their talent, with real folk influences, with super soft and anxious drumming, delicate sometimes pulsating guitars, echoing and warm synths and a large place reserved for Devon Portielje’s melancholic and strong vocals as well as Connor Molander and Dylan Phillips’ classic harmonies, even Fleetwood Mac-esque on the song ‘Nerve’.
Half Moon Run is already big in Canada, and I have no doubt the young trio is a very talented one, as the three of them seemed to be switching between different instruments during their set of complex and structured melodies coming from their debut album ‘Dark Eyes’, just released this year. They said they were happy to be back in Los Angeles, since they recently opened for Metric at the Greek theater here, and looking at the reaction of the crowd, I wouldn’t be surprised if they headline the next show they play here. I guess I have listened to Radiohead way too many times, next time I see Half Moon Run, I will try to remove my Thom Yorke earplugs.