The Holydrug Couple-Moonlust (2015)

The Holydrug Couple-Moonlust (2015)

“Don't cry when the sun is gone, because the tears won't let you see the stars.”

Violeta Parra

By: Ghost Writer

Music must be an important cultural matter on Chile, that clever and progressive country down south in Latin America, with a vast history of important musicians ranging from the amazingly experimental folk composer Violeta Parra, the combative and tragically killed folk singer Victor Jara (kind of like Chile´s own Pete Seeger), the psychedelic Los Jaivas and the cerebral anything-goes rockers Los Tres.

Chile is without a doubt one of the most advanced countries in the Latin America region, Chilean history might be a complex and difficult one, but one thing we can take for sure about this, they have truly learned from their past, and they don’t want to repeat it, as they are one of the most future looking and forward minded countries in America, having in a way been able to overcome ideology, so rampant in this region and going beyond capitalism and socialism sticking with the only "ism" that truly works, pragmatism.

Psychedelia matters a lot to some Chilean musicians, in a way the mind altering music connects with the spirituality prevalent in some of the musical folklore of the Los Andes region, some of the best musical bands from the past had their fair share in psychedelic, just as today's bands, rock might not be a mainstream stuff, but somehow experimental rock bands in Chile have managed to come out and ignite interest in North America and Europe.

The Holydrug Couple is a curious band, they remind me of Mexico's Sad Breakfast, a forgotten band that I loved so much and that disappeared without much fanfare, but THC are really closer to bands like Air, as their sound is spare and shiny, sometimes retro and warm tangentially touching bands like the Flaming Lips circa their amazing The Soft Bulletin, Mercury Rev's delicate Deserter's Song or My Bloody Valentine, as their music is something more ethereal, less physical or imposing in a way (although MBV is heavily physical), but at the same time you can feel it in a different way, like a drug, you can deny it's effects, but rather than physically, it works in a certain space on the brain.

 

The band goes full on nostalgia on this Moonlust record, as guitars ring in an endless way thanks to heavy reverb, as if past remembrances are set in a loop and repeated again and again, in a way they start to disintegrate and reconfigure in new and interesting ways, rhythm section is strong and fully based on the warm 70s radio sounds, it is agile and gives dynamism to the songs, while vocals are not prominent and sometimes get lost within the mix, used more like an ornate rather than a protagonist, which gives the whole songs a different effect, but one that again works in  favor of the music.

The band, or the “couple” bring a heavy “hypnagogic” feel to their music, as it harkens back to some of the warmest 70s sound, but with a futuristic spin to it, also the work of some of the most ethereal creations of French band Air is prevalent in this duo music, but they do it in a way all of their own as Manuel Parra´s almost narrative drums keeps things rolling, never letting the songs fall into a tedious zone, giving a great bottom for Ives Sepulveda multi instrumental approach and high almost nebulous vocals being able to build the heavy ornate songs, in a way is a curious mix of instinct and intellect, a quality that gives that very special feel to the music, it´s human and simple but at the same time ambitious and complex, in a way reminds me of the feeling good music of Marvin Gaye, but one cannot dismiss Gaye´s music as too simple, on the other way, it had a very heavy background and it gave lots of substance to the music, here Parra and Sepulveda create wonderful sounds, all too familiar to most of us, but  located in a totally different contest, which makes it a lot more enjoyable.

Making their own musical niche, Moonlust is a great musical record with its proper identity, proving that this Chilean band has a heavy thing going on.