Halo Moon

Under the guidance of bandleader and sole constant member Stephen Lawrie, English psychedelic voyagers the Telescopes have released record after record of deeply hypnotic space rock, each new LP taking a slightly different route than the last. Halo Moon, the bands 17th album, is very much in keeping with the outer reaches astral traveling theyve been doing for over 30 years, but finds a lighter, more blissful reading of their sound. Many of the songs here are minimal, stretched-out zoners cut from the same cloth as Spacemen 3 or early Spiritualized. "Come Tomorrow" employs half-speed drums and bleary organ in what sounds like it could a repurposed hymnal melody. "Along the Way" drones in one-note grandeur with occasional dustings of fuzz guitar, while elsewhere the band locks into sinister, cinematic grooves on tracks like "Nothing Matters" and the death rattle hiss of "Lonesome Heart." The bands signature darkness is offset by some moments that feel almost sweet. "For the River Man" dances between swells of tape echo, twinkling Omnichord star showers, and a distant harmonica all supporting Lawries low-key vocals. Closing track "This Train Rolls On" again uses half-speed drum hits and a din of droning single-note textures to create a gloriously dense Wall of Sound. As on every new Telescopes album, the differences can be subtle, but as Halo Moon winds down, the overall feeling is decidedly softer, more contented, and less tortured than previous efforts. Lawrie still sings his cosmic space blues with a heavy heart, but with Halo Moon, we get a sense that hes renewed and hopeful, having seen the land beyond. ~ Fred Thomas