Ava Luna - Moon 2

Ava Luna is a very artsy Indie Rock band hailing from Brooklyn who has been at it for a few years now.  Overall, I've always sort of very casually enjoyed them without never getting wildly into them.  With their first album, 2012's "Ice Level", the band brought together elements of jittery Indie Rock, flamboyant Art Rock, but also R&B and Dance-Punk vibes.  And trust me, when they were on, they were on.  Tracks like "Stages" and "Wrenning" were genuinely awesome, and showed Ava Luna bringing all of these sounds together succinctly.  But some of the other tracks here just had the band struggling to choose one of these genres to focus on. But all of those issues flew out the window with their 2014 follow-up "Electric Balloon".  This one showed Ava Luna embracing a much more animated Post Punk sound that came off insanely likable.  Not to mention, they were still bringing together all of these genres, but with so much more personality, I couldn't have been happier.  Hell, I felt like I was listening to an uncovered collection of Talking Heads tracks, and it was great. Ava Luna returned in 2015 with "Infinite House", which brought in brighter instrumentals and their best production yet.  And on paper, that sounded amazing.  But some of these vocals were so half-baked and ridiculous at times that I just couldn't wrap my head around it.  Tracks like "Best Hexagon" were some of the best yet that the band had put out, but most of this album just wasn't as instantaneous. But man, let me tell you.  These new singles have been seriously funky and an absolute blast.  I can't wait to dive deeper!

This album starts off with “Accessible”, a very low-key, quiet intro.  It’s a very synthetic, and it actually builds really nicely.  I can’t remember the last time I heard Ava Luna sounding so cold, and some of these vocals are just so weird.  They’re just so deep and haunting, and not nearly as full of animation as they usually are.  I don’t completely hate it though, and among this very starry-eyed, glistening instrumental, it’s not bad.  But it does end really abruptly and doesn’t grow in the direction I really wanted to.  But Ava Luna does pull it together quickly with “Centerline”.  This one is just as synthetic, but brings in loads more funk and some really great upbeat passages.  This is the sort of eclectic combination of genres that I always seem to get excited with listening to Ava Luna.  There’s some straightforward Indie Rock, but there’s also tons of New Wave and Funk, as well as some World Music influence and Electronica.  It’s just so damn colorful, and these vocals on all fronts are just fantastic.  It has so much character, and in moments like this once again I feel like I’m listening to some reincarnation of Talking heads.  This track is brilliant.  On the other hand, “Childish” once again brings things down for a much slower track.  But Ava Luna keeps your attention with a wide instrumental palate that just seems to keep bringing in new elements at a moments notice.  It’s moments like this that Ava Lunch is much harder to place, and this absolutely isn’t nearly as instantaneous.  But I really love the steamy vibes to this and the very low-key grooves.  I mean, I personally think this track needed a little better of a hook.  But this is still a genuinely impressive and colorful blend of styles.  On the other hand, “Leaf" is just as slow pace and full of mystery.  But on the other hand, this one I just so much more exciting and at the very least, seems to be building to something huge right of the bat. I love the almost darkened, tropical vibes to this that almost remind me of something Glass Animals would do.  And honestly, it gives me the chills.  When the vocals are done right, which they often are, they sound like they’re right on top of you.  And the very whimsical and chilly atmosphere is one of the most compelling of the bunch.  “Leaf” is haunting, catchy and a really slick new direction for the band.

Then we have “Mine”, which brings back that slick, upbeat funk that seemed to be missing from a few tracks.  On the other hand, this one has some Art Rock flair to it.  Like, there are moments here that reminds me of something out of the book of Dirty Projectors.  It’s sweet and incredibly vibrant, and I continue to love the vocals all around.  It’s got a very hectic vibe to it, one that seems to be rushing past you at every moment.  And it gets pretty abrasive towards the end, which is something I wasn’t expecting, but hell yea I’m into it.  But Ava Luna continues to slow things down with tracks like “Moon 2” which are just so much less instantaneous.  This one has me on the fence.  I do really like the moody vocals and some of the slide guitar passages.  But while there’s still tons to love about this band, these tracks give up some of the character and excitement that Ava Luna usually brings to the table.  The instrumental is just as lavish and full of surprises like some of the other tunes have had here, which makes this one listenable.  But vocally, this one doesn’t hit me nearly as hard.  Like, take “Deli Run” for example.  This one opens up immediately with some Electro-Funk influences and some instantaneous vocals.  It’s in moments like this that I really wish this album was so much more concrete because this track is fantastic.  Vocally, this is one of the most infectious tracks of the bunch, I dare you to listen to this one without singing it the rest of the day.  And instrumentally, this one is just as daring and fearless, and most importantly exciting.  You really don’t know when Ava Luna is going to hit you with some Synths, or a new groove, or some weird style of Art Rock, or all of those things combined.  It’s that exciting.  The funk is real, the performances are charismatic, this track is brilliant.  The more upbeat and groove-centered tracks continue with “Set It Off” which practically has some Post-Punk influence.  But this one is just so brilliant, bringing in fluttering guitars that are just so hard to keep track of as well as some of the album’s most animated vocals.  This album may have started a little slow, but much like Ava Luna themselves, once they get cooking they sound fantastic.  There are elements of Electronic, Art Rock, and tons more, it’s wild. 

But Ava Luna continues to come rolling back to these very off-kilter, hard to place, slower tunes.  “Walking with An Enemy” however, is not pretty sadly.  And outside of a few instrumentals that I honestly wasn’t expecting to hear, this one is just so tame.  Vocally, this track isn’t nearly as animated, and often just comes off more bored than anything.  I can barely remember anything about this track, and some of the bluesier moments that they pull out just aren't nearly as flattering as you would hope.  Then we have “Unless”, and a lot of these slower tracks just seem so tacky to me.  Don’t get me wrong, these vocals are still smooth, soulful and easy not he ears.  But between all the sound effects that pop in and the instrumentals that float in for a minute or two, this track just seems shallow.  Without the band’s upbeat, up-front vibes, this track just sounds like any old Indie band who just feel like screwing around a bit.  And no, it’s not good.  Ava Luna continues to confuse me with “On Its Side The Fallen”.  Like, what are they even doing with some of these instrumentals?  I get that spontaneous instrumentals can be exciting.  But this one just seems unfocused and truly just sounds like the band is trying too hard once again.  Thankfully, between some big synths, stunning vocals, and some actual atmosphere, this one is one of the better slow jams here.  But even with that, I’m still just sitting around here waiting for Ava Luna to kick up the funk and come out with some wilder stuff.  Then we get “Moon” as a closer.  And sure, the atmosphere is right on point, and it’s absolutely dense.  Not to mention it’s bleak.  But this album to me just seems so incomplete.  This is a fine, short, sweet instrumental of a finale.  But I feel like we deserve better. 

Rating: 6.9/10

Give A Listen To: “Centerline”, “Leaf”, “Deli Run”, “Set It Off”

Least Favorite Track: “Walking with An Enemy”

Genre: Art Rock / Indie Rock / Dance Punk

Overall Thoughts:  I can't help but be a little disappointed by this album.  Almost every single here sounded so vibrant and full of life, and there are a handful of tracks here that follow suit.   But there are way too many moments here where Ava Luna just come off as tame, or some random Indie Band trying to be a little more artsy.  Which is fine, but this isn't nearly as exciting and eccentric as some of their early work.