Sometimes when searching for music late at night you’ll stumble across a band that you may have never heard of before, but you instantly realize you will enjoy. For me, that’s often when I’m up late at night browsing Spotify and everything else is completely silent. That was the case when I found Australian prog-rockers Closure In Moscow, and more specifically their second and latest record Pink Lemonade. I had never heard of them before I found this album, and trust me when I say that I had no idea what I was going to hear!
Opening track “The Fool” kicks off with calm animal sounds and a few organ notes, but just as you get comfortable things flip and the song shakes you around, and the band continues to do this throughout the entire album. The songs twist and turn and dive into genres and styles ranging from everything between soul and indie rock to avant-garde and post-rock, and you’re never sure what the band will throw at you next. For me that sense of unexpectedness is one of the albums biggest pros, and will keep the listener interested throughout this one hour progressive rock ride. The songs are really well crafted and the fact that they are both experimental and progressive and yet undeniably catchy at times really show the amazing musical talent of the band members. While you can hear influences and inspirations from many other bands and artists in this album, Closure In Moscow does a great job with mixing them together and creating a unique sound that’s all their own.
Perhaps my only real gripe with Pink Lemonade is that while it is good, it isn’t completely amazing. When listening to the album as a whole, I found myself wishing that the band had continued even more into the crazy territory that was displayed within the first few tracks. Rather than follow the promising example set by the beginning of the record, it feels like the second half is less interesting and more predictable than the first. The big question mark of the album comes from the closing track “ピンク レモネード”, which is basically Japanese pop sung by females over 16-bit music that could have been taken directly from some old school Nintendo game. It just feels forced and disconnected from the rest of the album, and should probably have been dropped from the record entirely. But other than that, this is a good album with interesting lyrical themes and a unique sound that I found entertaining at numerous points during the record. If you’re into catchy, crazy indie rock with soul influences, I highly recommend you check this out, and preferably listen to the album as a whole for the best experience.
My standout tracks and personal favorites on this record include: “Pink Lemonade”, “Seeds of Gold”, “Dinosaur Boss Battle” and the record’s lead single “The Church Of The Technochrist”.
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