Reviews
I have to say that I must be a very late developer: I’ve only recently discovered Liverpool band, Indigo Moon. Boy, am I making up for lost time. How could I have been so…musically impubescent. Their EP Anatomy currently takes centre stage in my hormonal ears, simultaneously rocking and lulling me out of my Indigo-ignorant coma. Live, they deliver a powerful, blistering set that packs a killer punch to any loitering inertia you may be harbouring.
So how would you describe their sound? With great difficulty, is the answer. If you are looking for one dimensional, you have come to the wrong place. They have been described as being psych rock but you are just as likely to catch jazz chord sequences that wouldn’t be out of place in a Corinne Bailey Rae song. A psychedelic, rocking, rabble-rousing , beat and mood driven, hairy, joyful jazzazzle.
They have everything going for them, and some. There is a superb rhythm section comprising Lisa Fawcett, whose shattered drumstick I snaffled and had signed, and Hannah Lodge on bass. Multiple time signatures are blended seemlessly into one song; heavy, fuzzy,biting guitar riffs reminiscent of Tony Iommi (think Black Sabbath’s Iron Man) and Jimmy Page cut through the festival air; layers of synths (Adam Dixon) fill out a song like Pieces from brilliant EP Anatomy and make it reminiscent of Muse in full operatic flow; then, of course, there are Ash Colley’s incredible vocals. Like the songs, and the skills of the band, her vocal chords are multi-faceted, ranging from mellow, sweet jazzy to rip your throat out, rasping rock that smashes you full on in the face. If they had been around at that time, Indigo Moon would have played Woodstock alongside Jefferson Airplane, The Grateful Dead and Santana, and would also have graced the early 70’s prog rock scene too. They seem to transcend musical eras, styles and moods. Listen to Circulation where an apocalyptic crescendo demanding revolution disappears into nothing but a heavenly, garage-grunge, guitar break, before the unfettered holler picks up the call again.
When you listen to the Anatomy EP, you feel that you are experiencing their full force live, that the songs were born out of five young people jamming together in the studio. When you see them live, you see why you came to said conclusion. A series of all out, freak out, space out, rock out, zone out, intros and outros. The ending of Xin is an example of this, a head-banging explosion of sound, light, and colour. The experimental, late 60’s, early 70’s live jam of Cream, Zeppelin, Hendrix is alive and well! The powerful, sensual voices of Grace Slick and Janis Joplin and Robert Plant are alive and well. But think also of the powerful, versatile vocals of somebody more recent like Christina Aguilera too and you get Ash Colley.
Multi-talented, Indigo Moon encapsulate versatility, originality, and how can I put it …If you think of the difference between buying a flight to Spain and buying a round the world ticket via Dubai, Singapore, Bangkok, Sydney, Rio and New York. That’s the difference. With lots of bands you get Spain and nothing but Spain, which works ok for them. With Indigo Moon you get all these different musical places and experiences, a plethora of tones, beats and lyrical texture, even in the space of one song. Like Led Zep IV, you get Black Dog alongside Going to California, and you get songs that have everything, like Stairway to Heaven. Sweet and sour, dark and light, rock n jazz, big and small, loud and soft, cry and laugh, shoegaze and freak out. If you can’t tell by now, I can’t recommend them enough. My dream gig has Indigo Moon playing alongside Black Honey. Everyone out there…when can this happen?
The Interview
Are you Indigo Moon because of the clothing company, the London puppet theatre or the Pennsylvania brass band? (all on google)
We came up with the name before we actually wrote any songs, so I suppose we thought “what sounds as generically psychedelic as possible?” It’s also partly inspired by the jazz song Mood Indigo.
Where did Indigo Moon originate?
We all met studying music at uni and we eventually developed our sound and began to pursue it further.
Tell me about the three songs on Anatomy, how you wrote them, how they came together musically and lyrically?
‘Pieces’ was the first song we wrote with our drummer Lisa as a way of testing/showing off her abilities. It features about 4 different time signatures and is a lot faster than our previous stuff. ‘Circulation’ came together quite quickly when we started playing with some darker, jazzier chords and modes. ‘Xin’ was a tricky one – it began with a riff that Brad had been sitting on for a while and evolved in the studio with the help of our talented Stokie producer, Sam Bloor.
How do you feel you have evolved since Uncertain and Running Circles?
I think since our last EP we’ve improved our songwriting abilities as well as taken on a heavier sound. We’ve made use of our synth a lot more too.
Which of your own songs means the most to you?
I think we all have our own favourites but it’s always fun to play Running Circles, the outro is half the song and there’s a lot of room for noisy improvisation live.
Which song do you wish you had written?
Whatever would’ve made us dead rich.
What’s the worst song you’ve ever heard?
Probably anything by Martin Garrix.
Which question are you pissed off getting asked? Have I asked it yet?
We just love the attention to be honest.
What question would you ask yourself at this point?
Who even are you?
What is the best gig you’ve played?
After the electricity blew midway through our smithdown fest set last year, we went to a warehouse in Kenny the same night called The Bakery to play with Elevant and Omit Sleep. We didn’t really know what to expect but were greeted by a massive crowd of enthusiastic hippies and there was UV lights and paint everywhere. It was hectic.
What would your dream gig be?
Ideally, Primavera Sound in Barcelona. Mostly for the lineups, somewhat for the weather.
Do you have a life philosophy?
Big beats are the best, get high all the time.
Do you have a ten-year plan, or just get up and put the kettle on and see where it takes you?
We’re still in our early days, so we’d like to do our first album and tour soon and give up our dreams in favour of day jobs if all that fails.
Who is the biggest divvy/ diva in the band? Also, if you had to ditch one member, who would it be?
We’re a band of divas to be honest, we all like to have things our own way but we tend to agree most of the time. Brad could probably be replaced by a dog trained to stomp on guitar pedals.
Has anyone’s g-string ever snapped in mid performance? (for the guitarists obviously!)
Surprisingly no, but we do have a lot of technical difficulties.
What’s your biggest epic fail been? Did you learn from it?
Probably our song ‘Uncertain’, it’s dead naff. We’ve avoided major chords ever since.
Which movie would you love to be in, and for it to be happening in real life?
Star Wars.
Which other artists do you like, especially on the Liverpool scene?
There’s too many to choose from, but probably SPQR, Oya Paya, Bribes, Mums, The Hyena Kill, False Advertising, FUSS, Queen Zee and the Sasstones and Bisch Nadar to name but a few. There really are loads more.
Do you wish I’d stop asking questions?
I wish we had all the answers.
Words and photos by Si ©Cre8ivation
