Moon And Aries – Break The Matrix

Music Reviews
Jer@SBS
March 31, 2023
0

Moon And Aries – Break The Matrix – Album Review

Okay…wait…whaaaaaaaaaat? Y’all have already heard my comments on all these songs, haven’t ya?

Gonna have to rack my ol’ brainwaves to see what else I can tell you about these tracks from Moon And Aries…I would have previously shared my thoughts on everything you’ll hear throughout this record over the course of this duo releasing them online through their EPs of Break The Matrix, Episode One, Two, and Three. They know & you know what I think about’em all already…so I suppose the most imperative piece of information I can supply you with, is that the FULL LENGTH ALBUM IS AVAILABLE ONLINE NOW!

So go get it will ya? Beyond that…well…I suppose we’ll see what else I can figure out to say – let’s push play, shall we?

On the plus side, as a person that is consistently listening to something and onto the next much quicker than I tend to want to be in many circumstances, it’s always great to revisit tunes you dig by people that you genuinely want to support. I’ve had the privilege of getting to know both Tom Aries and Jordana Moon a little bit behind the scenes, and I know just how much passion, effort, and dedication they bring to their music. I’ve also started following Jordana’s page online at Instagram, where you’ll find her sharing all kinds of unique behind the scenes details and bonus stuff surrounding the songs they’ve been creating. They start up the official full length record with one of the most crucial cuts to the concept, “Illumination Society,” which also happens to be one of the sets most addictive & memorable tracks as well. It’s always interesting to hear the effect of time & space as a music-reviewer. Ultimately, this song is one of the more recent that I heard from Moon And Aries given that it was originally released on the Break The Matrix (Episode Three) EP back in early February, but there’s zero doubt about how memorable this song genuinely is. It’ been about a month & a half since I would have heard it last I suppose, and I still feel like I could sing along with every word. It’s a key cut to unlocking the themes that they’ve incorporated into this album, but even more crucially, it’s just a really damn great song too. Jordana’s vocals in the hook of “Illumination Society” are proof that she’s world-class as a singer, and the lyricism is equally stellar here too. Tom, who generally handles the music & production, proves to be remarkably special as well with the innovative & artistic design of a track like “Illumination Society.” Smart to have put this track in the opening slot, I think that “Illumination Society” is one of their very best – it’s not only enticing, it’s a fantastic representation of what they can accomplish.

The depth of “The Butterfly Effect” is also a welcome return…they remind me of how we used to get some really unique & soulful vibes on the old Massive Attack albums from the beginning of their catalog. I will say this…which is much more of a ME thing than it will be a YOU thing…I ended up hearing some other song called “The Butterfly Effect” by another artist or band around the same time, and I always think the Moon And Aries song is gonna be that one. In any event, I like this track too…I think the lower tones of Jordana’s register really pair brilliantly with the higher notes in her range, and she gives you a solid glimpse of both as she sings this one. Melody-wise, I think they both do really well here – Tom’s got this track laid out smartly for Moon to make the most out of it, and she does a perfect job of filling it in with the way she’s chosen to sing it. I think what actually makes “The Butterfly Effect” work the most is the detail you’ll hear in the backing vocals…great lead, no doubt, because it’s Jordana so of course – but when you hear what she’s added into the background layers too, you’ll find amazing stuff goin’ on. Credit to the man on the mix as well…you can hear Moon hitting some really standout notes in behind the lead, yet they continually remain at the right levels in the background required to accent the song.

I keep flipping back & forth through the pages on this site to see when the originals were released as I’ve been listening whenever I feel like we’re into a real highlight. I’m not re-reading my reviews – good lord NO…I can’t even fathom doing that, as rest assured I’d probably just rewrite the same things over again if I did…I’m really just seeing when things were put out there for a frame of reference. Like, take the case of a song like “Never For Me” for example – this track came on, and I’m like, YEP – THAT is what real memorable sound is like, 100%. As it turns out, this track ALSO came from Break The Matrix (Episode Three) like the opening track on this album did as well – which as you’ve read, is another favorite of mine from this duo. So…I think we can look at it two different ways. One being that, clearly it’s the EP that was most recently released, and I’ve got a memory like an elephant when it comes to music – it’s still very fresh in my mind for sure. The other way to look at it however, is equally crucial – I felt like with each iteration of their series of releases, you could feel this duo dialing even further into what was making them special – so to me, it’s very natural that many of the tracks I’d feel like would represent their best tracks, would be the ones most recently released – make sense? Moon And Aries has been getting stronger, and tracks like “Illumination” and “Never For Me” have been proof of that. This time around in listening, I feel like my ears have been focused a lot more on the details that flow through the background behind Jordana’s lead…from the backing vocals to the music itself, they’ve really put an impressive amount of sound into their music without making it feel like it’s overstuffed. They’re making the right moves on a track like “Never For Me” – it’s got everything that it truly needs, even a video!

I believe…if I remember right…”Rescued” was my favorite cut from Break The Matrix (Episode Two), wasn’t it? I know I remember feeling like this track actually had a lot in common with the Post Punk sound, aside from its more dominant digital traits that make it more relevant for the right here & now. I think what I really love about this song now…about five or six months since I would have been checking it out originally…is that “Rescued” is verifiable proof of how sensational Moon can be as a singer. I know what you’re thinking…Jer @ SBS, you’ve basically already SAID that – but lemme explain…there’s really not all that many words on “Rescued” at all! Quite honestly, that’s usually a fairly main ingredient for a singer, ain’t it? “Rescued” is the track that proves Jordana barely needs’em to keep you captivated! Her vocalizations soaring through the background, and the way they seem to interact & interlock with Tom’s ideas throughout the music and its structure, are really nothing short of perfection. All-in-all, I find this track to be more than a great listen, it’s a genuinely fascinating song from the music to the microphone. They’re both at their undeniable best on “Rescued” and I’d definitely explore doing more tracks like this. There’s no doubt that Jordana’s an excellent lyricist, but when unencumbered by having to do too much in that regard, she’s freed up to be even more creative with how she chooses to sing, and it really works.

When you look at the layout of the full length album, it’s actually kind of neat. I wouldn’t go quite as far as to say they lay it out in reverse entirely, but it’s pretty darn close when you examine it. All the tracks from Episode Three end up being closest to the front, Episode Two is a little at the beginning and found more in the middle, and the songs from Episode One all ended up being how Break The Matrix finishes off. Is that intentional? By accident or by design? These two do very little if anything at all without purpose and some kind of reason…so I’d have to side with them deciding to do what they’ve done with the lineup. Sometimes it’s just a matter of putting the material you’re the most keen on up front, or sometimes the newer songs end up being the ones we’re still the most jazzed about as creators, which has them all naturally floating towards the front of a compilation style record…but with the dimensions of the storyline that runs through Break The Matrix, it’s also fair to assume they’re likely somewhat displaying their concept in a different way to reveal its versatility. Maybe it’s to prove that the Matrix itself is a continual loop that is very hard to break out of, if it’s even possible! Backwards or forwards, we tumble through time & space under the illusion we have some kind of control over that…and maybe the way they’ve somewhat reversed this lineup speaks on behalf of that, like we’re observing the issue “From Another Dimension.” I don’t know this for a fact, I’ve only ever just got theories…but these two put a whole lot of thought into what they do, so I can’t imagine I’m telling them anything they don’t already know with the way this album flows in regards to the way the songs were originally released. I feel like I appreciate songs like “From Another Dimension” more than I might have back when I heard it first…maybe that’s the effect of time, distance, and perspective…but I think it has more to do with the realization of just how consistent Moon And Aries are across the board & the care they take with their material from start to finish. Basically, all of these songs stand a genuine chance of being your favorite.

Yeah! Consistency y’all…Moon And Aries really ensured that you get a quality listen with these songs overall. “Codes And Circles” is a stellar example of how that works to their advantage. I think there’s probably an argument to be made that it might not stand out quite as much as a track like “Illumination Society” or “Rescued” perhaps, but the quality in what THEY do never drops, and that’s really all you can ever ask on our side of the speakers. Like I said, they’ve put themselves in the right position to succeed by keeping their consistency up…the rest beyond that, always comes down to individual preferences and personal taste. I like “Codes And Circles” maybe even a little more in terms of the concept & theme and how it relates to the sound of what we actually hear…all the smart beeps in the melody of the music designed by Aries, and the cleverness of the mystery found in the words of Moon…it’s all a good fit into this song, and a great example of going where the music takes ya. For as digitalized as they are as a duo, a lot of what they create sounds impressively natural and organic…”Codes And Circles” shows some of their dimension & depth on both those fronts without a doubt…I’d bet that people really dig this track.

While I’m sure that if you were to read the past reviews I’ve written on the Break The Matrix series from Moon And Aries that I was likely the most critical of the first installment, context can play a bigger role in terms of a full length album versus what an EP can reveal. Is “The In Between” my favorite track of the bunch? No…it’s still not gonna reach the heights of what they created on tracks you’d find in the first half of the lineup on this record in my opinion…but I do like how it affects the storyline flowing through Break The Matrix where it sits in the set-list. “The In Between” basically highlights a lot of what’s natural and found around us every day…kind of like it’s organically rebelling against the imposition of the Matrix itself. It’s a very grounded and aware tune in terms of the writing, despite its dreamier sound and vibe. So while it’s probably still fair to say “The In Between” wouldn’t be my main choice as a single, I do feel like it’s become much more necessary to the story they’ve woven throughout the record, and I can really appreciate that overall. Even the ambient sounds you’ll find in this song with the air rushing through your speakers…it’s clever stuff all-around…I feel like they’ve really thought through the way they’ve got a digital sound with a technological theme, and yet chosen to center so many of their songs around the organic essence that makes us special as human beings. Like…people can rant and rave about AI all they wanna – I’m a firm believer it’s gonna take the computers a long, long time to be able to figure out how to replicate what Jordana can do or the insightful way these two write songs together.

Moon sings with a strong sense of sensuality and thought-provoking lyricism on a track like “Closer And Closer” – and the digitalized vibe that Aries creates is authentically compelling. While the reality of this duo would reveal they’re still on the early side of what their career will go on to become over time, you have to admire how much they’ve gotten right at the beginning of their journey. “Closer And Closer” might not have the kind of typical hooks you’d associate with most songs, but it has a very effective mix of evocative sound and tangible imagery that’ll make you think. So while we have a song that challenges convention in a more decisively artistic way, it’s very much bound to still pull in a noteworthy amount of ears to pay attention for multiple reasons. And when you look at things from that perspective, you have to consider that a song like “Closer And Closer” and a duo like Moon And Aries might even have the real advantage over the rest. I’m not saying that creating any song that’s naturally catchy and full of those good-good hooks we so quickly sing along with is any kind of EASY accomplishment – it’s not, ever – but there’s also really something to be said for captivating & fascinating material that has a different pulse and method of reaching you altogether, which this track arguably does. Basically, it’s the kind of song that proves we don’t really need to be completely spoon fed a whole bunch of synthetic sincerity and music industry trickery to get into something…tracks like “Closer And Closer” & the way that these two go about presenting their ideas offer a more artistic alternative that’s bound to be appealing to many.

In this lineup of nine tracks, that leaves “Losing Control” as the final cut – and considering the fact that we’ve yet to hear Tom as the lead vocalist, you bet I knew which song was gonna finish this new record off. Ultimately, I think that was probably the right call to make in terms of where it sits in the lineup, at the very least in regards to how it sounds more-so than perhaps the overall concept of Break The Matrix. I still think this was a really good move on their part as a duo, and that it also opens the door for them in the future to follow as well. Jordana is as sensational and devoted to the material in a backup role as she has been in the lead – and to me, that’s how you really know you’ve got the right partner in musical crime, know what I mean? Tom can fully rely on Jordana, and clearly vice versa…and that kind of stuff truly matters when you’re in a two member band, wouldn’t you say? With these songs reversed in the order they were originally released, it’s hard to say we’ve escaped the Matrix as much as it seems like it might have recaptured us by the end…but again, that could very well be an additional way that they’ve chosen to present the work they’ve done and give us yet another dimension to consider. Or it could just be my take on things, which I by no means would say is the only way you could or should look at anything. Like I’ve told ya countless times on these pages of ours, I only know what sounds good and not an ounce more…and in that regard, I think it’s fair to say after all you’ve read about Moon And Aries on this site, you can tell I’m a genuine fan. It really extends far beyond what they’ve created with these songs if I’m being entirely honest with ya – I certainly think they’re special as they are already, but the sheer potential for where they can go with their music in the future to follow is certifiably staggering. It’ll be more than interesting to see what they choose to do with their next project now that the Break The Matrix saga has come to a close…at least for now. This is definitely the kind of concept that could go on to live multiple lives in different forms with all kinds of variations and new twists added into the tale…so stay tuned on that – Moon And Aries might have broken the Matrix for now, but that doesn’t necessarily imply that the battle is over, or that its ever really finished. If anything, I’d say having “Losing Control” at the end almost reboots the theme and/or gives them a platform to jump from as they launch into their next record. All I can be certain of…all that WE can be certain of after all that we’ve heard and experienced, is that Moon And Aries will continue thriving with their remarkable consistency & engaging sound, and keep dropping enticing sensory material that is every bit as moving as it is mysterious to us.

Rest assured, they’re way more in control than losing it, and they’re onto something significantly special.