A Blemish In The Great Light

The Montreal groups third full-length effort, A Blemish in the Great Night sees Half Moon Run continuing to push their sound forward with a dynamic 13-track set of crafty indie pop confections that are both easy to digest and curiously barbed. Far removed from their indie folk origins, the band explored a more polished, studio-forward sound on 2015s excellent Sun Leads Me On, a predilection they take to with even more gusto this time around. Theres a pronounced warmth behind the crisp and clean production, especially on early album gems Flesh and Blood and Natural Disaster, both of which highlight the groups immaculate harmonies. Pairing Beatlesque melodicism, breezy West Coast Americana, and glossy 80s pop works wonders on the prog-tinged Razorblade and the elegiac U2-meets-Chicago-era Sufjan Stevens-inspired closer New Truth; if were going to keep drawing comparisons, then the sultry and silly sex romp Jello on My Mind owes a tip of the hat to Cheap Tricks Mandocello. Only the folksy Yanis Song harkens back to the groups more homespun genesis, but the likable A Blemish in the Great Night, despite housing some significant lyrical undercurrents of discord, retains enough residual heat to keep your feet warm, like a thin wool blanket designed for mild evenings. ~ James Christopher Monger