Forest Robots – Supermoon Moonlight Part Two
Forest Robots – Supermoon Moonlight Part Two – Album Review
Sometimes you just get that feeling that things are gonna work out, know what I mean? While it feels like I’ve actually been listening to Forest Robots for longer than it appears here on our pages, which traces back to a single called “Inevitable” from back in 2019 – I still have fairly decent knowledge of most of the catalog out there by this one-man project from the mind & talents of Fran Dominguez. I’ve always enjoyed the music this dude creates, that’s the facts – but there’s just something about the way that Supermoon Moonlight Part Two began with the friendly vibes of “All The Rivers Born In The Mountains” that seemed so surefooted…the kind of song that tells ya you’d be in-store for one of the better records in the cannon of Forest Robots, you feel me? Fran’s tried a bunch of unique stuff over the years…some highly minimalist stuff that appeals more to certain moods where you’re seeking out an ambient peace…and then he’s got songs like “All The Rivers Born In The Mountains” where there’s more involved on records that seem to give your brain a bit more to chew on, like you’ll find on this one here. Anyhow…you get the point of what I’m saying I’m sure – there’s a real tangible melody and sweetness to be found in “All The Rivers Born In The Mountains” and the way this album begins…it gives you a feeling akin to sunlight peeking through the forest trees, reflecting its prismatic colors on the surface of the water. Fran’s music has always had a strong connection to nature, and that still rings true to this day. When he’s in this mode that we find him in on “All The Rivers Born In The Mountains” he’s the closest thing to The Album Leaf that you’ll find in the independent music scene…and that’s all aces in my books.
Shifting more towards what you know & love from music like Boards Of Canada, crossed with the music in behind the vocals of a band like MGMT, “Everything Changes Color With The Rainfall” is a wonderfully satisfying cut towards the beginning of Supermoon Moonlight Part Two as well. From the arpeggiating pulse that fills in the background perfectly, to the immaculate details that Fran has placed on the surface – “Everything Changes Color With The Rainfall” ends up being quite the transformative cut, even while it maintains a lot of what it had from the very time it all began. Expertly morphing the music as it plays on, “Everything Changes Color With The Rainfall” makes significant moves, but takes on the task of never really leaving too much behind either, opting to build consistently on what you hear in a progression from the start to finish. Extremely clever stuff if you ask me – and the vibe is once again accessible in a noteworthy way. If there’s ever been anything to comment on critically with the music of Forest Robots in the past, it’s simply that some records and songs have been well-beyond the intended audience – but here in these first two tracks on Supermoon Moonlight Part Two, I wanna do nothing else but give Fran a high-five of pure approval…this is the balance I feel like this project has needed in many ways. What I love about that, is that it’s not like Dominguez has had to overtly compromise – this is still the whole vibe of Forest Robots, 100% – it just has that much more of a chance of reaching the masses as opposed to the more niche audience many records in the catalog have appealed to in the past. Like…for real…no one should be able to resist the alluring audible charm of “Everything Changes Color With The Rainfall.”
Yeah man…this is workin’ for me, and I’d be willing to bet it’ll work for a whole lot of ya – “In All The Places That We Roam And Wander” would probably be right up there with some of the Forest Robots tunes that are nearest & dearest to my heart…the sincerity of Fran’s passion is always found within the detail he puts into his tunes, and always translates directly to our ears through the melody. Returning back to that jazzy digital combination of sound you’d find in music from The Album Leaf or Four Tet – I’m all about it…the overall results on “In All The Places That We Roam And Wander” are truly beautiful. This is what people talk about when they say they can feel the vibe…the kind of music that becomes a sensory experience, as opposed to mere entertainment. I even like the fade-out ending on this song, and I almost never like those, in any artist’s or band’s music, ever! What can I say…I was raised on Grunge music where that was a specific no-no…but the fade-out really suited this whole quaint vibe & atmosphere on “In All The Places That We Roam And Wander.” There’s an inherently humble element of the music of Forest Robots that always seems to be present…and it’s a glorious part of this song here.
“Somewhere In The Early Morning Forest Mist” was the kind of subtle trance-inducing cut you can get lost in for hours on end…trust me, I’m speaking from experience here. I has this track looping on repeat for quite some time, I dunno…sometimes I just do that with the music I’m listening to, especially as I’m writing about it…but yeah…there are moments where I just stop writing altogether, and drift away into my thoughts. It takes a song like “Somewhere In The Early Morning Forest Mist” to pull that off, but it is certainly possible under the right circumstances…I suppose it’s the contemplative sound at work. I felt like everything about this track was subtly spectacular, and highly understated…fascinating really. I wouldn’t expect that “Somewhere In The Early Morning Forest Mist” is going to be the cut that stands out to most listeners on that first spin, maybe not even the tenth if I’m being truthful…but when it hits ya, it’ll hit ya, and the impact will be significantly profound. The production is off the charts perfect and flawless by every conceivable definition…it might be among the more chilled-out & mellow cuts that you’ll find on this record, but it’s songs like “Somewhere In The Early Morning Forest Mist” that provide the real backbone of strength that holds up this entire lineup of tunes. It’s songs like this that have the album breathing in & out, alive with its dynamics, contracting & expanding, and building on its contrast.
Dialing back the sound even further still, more towards that ambient & minimalistic side of the Forest Robots catalog we know from the past…the part likely most associated with its tie-ins with nature – “Of Embers Warmth The Long Forgotten Memories” was definitely the right track to have featured in the lineup right after “Somewhere In The Early Morning Forest Mist” – it felt like these two tracks really belonged together back-to-back in terms of the atmospheric vibe they present. I fully recognize that the album somewhat drifts away from the more universally accessible sounds & songs you find at the very beginning of Supermoon Moonlight Part Two…but I felt like both these two were so peaceful that they still deserve a lot of credit for how appealing they are in that regard. Forest Robots creates music with relentless quality, texture, and tone…”Of Embers Warmth The Long Forgotten Memories” still qualifies highly in that respect; it might move slower-than-slow at a glacier’s pace, but it’s genuinely reveals an uncanny way of having you hang onto every second as you listen, completely mesmerized, enchanted, and captivated by what you hear. It’s hard to argue there ain’t value in that too, know what I mean? So it’s not music made for radio…show me a Forest Robots song that really is!?! Like I was tellin’ ya earlier – songs like “Of Embers Warmth The Long Forgotten Memories” are what an audible EXPERIENCE really IS. It’s entertainment, yes – but with entirely different goals in how it goes about achieving that for you.
As we flip the tape over to side-B…alright…I’m kidding about that, we’re in the digital age y’all…but as we start the second-half, “Every Ray Of Light In Between The Reeds And Trees” restores the accessibility factor back to the record, and gives the masses a bit more of a tangible melody they can attach to. And they will – happily I might add. Don’t get it twisted, and don’t get me wrong – I’m all for the minimalism that Forest Robots is capable of creating…there’s some pure peaceful gems in that part of the catalog, no doubt about it – all I’m saying is that I find tracks like “Every Ray Of Light In Between The Reeds And Trees” and tunes like “All The Rivers Born In The Mountains” & In All The Places That We Roam And Wander” to be outright pure audio GOLD, and incredibly irresistible. You see folks? Stars Music Critics – they’re just like us! It’s true though – I’m not at all immune to a beat combined with MORE melody on display…when Fran is in that mode & gear, I think the guy creates pure magic and it’s songs just like “Every Ray Of Light In Between The Reeds And Trees” that fully back me up on everything I’m claiming. I love the rubbery bounce of the sound selection, the warmth of the production…the gentle delicateness of it all really…it’s an excellent example to point to when we talk about how charming this album can be.
I was probably the least sure about “And The Clouds Then Turned Into Castles” from this particular lineup of Forest Robots songs…and even still, at the end of the day, I’d tell ya I’m pretty much all for this track too. It’s really only by comparison to the rest of the set that it pales slightly…perhaps because it seems to straddle the middle a bit more than the others do, not quite fully ambient, and not quite fully beat-driven either. Like I said, I still enjoyed it – and there’s no rules that say a song has to BE one thing or the other of course…I suppose it just felt like it was a bit more detached from what it wanted to BE as a song – make sense? It flashes moments of brilliance for sure, but doesn’t quite reach that same level of fascination as the rest of the lineup does…and drifts a bit too much as it plays to really stay in that accessible gear either. Somewhere in between realms, a track like “And The Clouds Then Turned Into Castles” exists – and that’s OKAY! Not every song we’re ever gonna create is going to knock it straight outta the park, that’s the reality. What’s also the reality, is that I’d like to “And The Clouds Then Turned Into Castles” more than I would most songs out there…it’s only Forest Robots competing WITH Forest Robots that makes this particular tune seem slightly less of a factor as to why we’d all love this record. Production-wise and performance-wise, it’s still 100% on-point…that’s all you can ever really ask of any artist or band…the passion & interest is still present on Fran’s end, and that’s all that’s important to me.
“Everything Changes Shape Under The Supermoon” was the runner up to “And The Clouds Then Turned Into Castles” in terms of how I felt about it personally…I’m a bit more into this track, but I felt like it’s one of those songs that can’t quite identify what its most appealing aspects are, know what I mean? Hint – the most dominant synth-sound that you’ll hear in the mix, ain’t it. So a lot of the real magic of “Everything Changes Shape Under The Supermoon” seems to be more hidden underneath that…and I’d reckon that’s somewhat of a shame really…I think most folks would probably miss the outright gorgeous sound that’s layered in below the surface, because what we’re hearing on top really does take over this tune. It can be tough to be objective as the creators & artists making the music sometimes…it can be hard to really pin down WHAT we connect with as listeners as well…and in some cases, perhaps even in the case of “Everything Changes Shape Under The Supermoon” – one hand washes the other…as in, we need one part to make the dynamics of the other work out. I don’t think I’m really disputing that…I think I’m probably just arguing that what’s dominant sound-wise in this tune is a bit TOO dominant in comparison to the rest, and that the rest is where the real magic of this particular track was at its best.
“Wind Always Runs Wilder Along The River’s Current” – is sage wisdom, and true as far as I know it to be as well. It’s almost an odd inclusion in this set-list, given that it’s not even ninety seconds in length…I don’t really think it’s going to be the song that makes the record for anyone that was on the fence about it, and I don’t think it’s going to turn off any of the folks that were digging it already. A true case of it is what it is, “Wind Always Runs Wilder Along The River’s Current” is a quaint beauty and admirable short tune, it’s just not going to be a make or break cut in the context of Supermoon Moonlight Part Two is all.
The gentle combination of ambient vibes, atmospheric elements, and colorful melody on “As The Sun Sets Across Wide Open Fields” felt like it made sense as a conclusion to this album. In a way, it’s another cut that seems to attempt to bridge the gap between different approaches, sounds, and styles – and maybe it gets there for ya, maybe it doesn’t – all I’m saying is that in context of the lineup overall, it makes sense to find a song like this at the very end. I still feel like it’s got a lot to offer our ears – but I generally feel that’s the case with every Forest Robots record – Fran knows what he’s doing, and whether it’s through some kind of uniqueness in the music itself, or the outstanding production he brings to his music, there’s always something well worth your time checking out in every track. I’m probably more partial to the more active melodies on this particular record than the more ambient-driven tunes overall, but I felt like Supermoon Moonlight Part Two held its own in the catalog really well, and gives the Forest Robots fans out there, a lil’ something for everyone, know what I mean? If you dig the ambient side of this project’s sound – there’s lots of that. If you dig the more melodic or beat-driven tunes, you’ve got plenty of those to listen to as well. And in the case of tracks like “As The Sun Sets Across The Wide Open Fields,” or many of the songs in the album’s second-half, you get a whole bunch of tunes that do their best to meet in the middle somewhere, in a sincere effort to satisfy everyone all at once in terms of sound. From what I’ve read about Supermoon Moonlight Part Two, some of this album dates back to pre-pandemic, while other tunes are most recent…so it’s fair that it comes out a bit mixed by the end in that regard, perhaps, I guess. I know what that’s like though…that feeling of having a bunch of material backed up & waiting to see the daylight…how crucial it is to finish something we’ve started before moving onto the next thing, whatever that may be…it’s an important step for Fran and Forest Robots to have finished this record; by doing so, it creates the opportunity for the next to exist.
Find out more about Forest Robots at the main website: https://www.forestrobots.com and/or visit the official page over at Instagram to find out more right here: https://www.instagram.com/forestrobots
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