Having moved overseas to Venice from Oakland, California in 2013, Luis Vasquez, the man who is The Soft Moon embarked upon the process of writing and recording his musical project’s third album. If the darkest hour is just before the dawn then that must have been when Vasquez completed most of his work on Deeper for it is a record shrouded in the bleak, black light of that time of night. He has since spoken about his then need for solitude and the music of Deeper certainly captures the mood of a man all alone with whatever personal demons may be rattling around inside his brain just before the break of day.
Deeper is an emotional howl from the bowels of Vasquez’s self-inflicted isolation. It asks many questions of its creator and through his sonic vision and the collaborative input of producer Maurizio Baggio he does produce answers. They may be stark, minimal responses – each song title is confined to one single word – but they are answers. ‘Inward‘, ‘Black‘, ‘Wasting’, ‘Desertion‘ and ‘Without‘ are clear indicators of their self-analytical subject matter.
And they all come shrouded in an austere, industrial musical language; squalling synthesisers and serrated guitars jostle for position over the relentless rhythm of those mechanical beats that speak to you of some other subterranean world. It is an often breathless, claustrophobic listen – the darker sides of Depeche Mode and Nine Inch Nails may be rough guides on this journey – but one that through repeated visits will slowly burrow deep into your subconsciousness.
Now resident in Berlin, Luis Vasquez does appear to have reached a heightened sense of inner-peace afforded him by Deeper. It is an exercise in emotional exorcism. An intuitive, inspired and honest collection of eleven songs, it can ultimately offer you deliverance.
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Deeper was released on 30th March 2015 through Captured Tracks.
https://soundcloud.com/capturedtracks/07-desertion/
