The Breakdown
Exploring dark memories embedded in nostalgia, MØAA present their debut LP Euphoric Recall out now on WWNBB (We Were Never Being Boring).
MØAA was first conceived by Jancy Rae when she began writing and recording demos while living in the forest near Seattle. Serving as an outlet to process a troubled past, MØAA was named after the MAO-A gene, also known as “The Warrior Gene,” for its connection to increased aggression and perseverance. More than halfway through writing the album, she moved across the world to Venice, where in isolation and in collaboration with Andrea Volpato (also New Candys), completed the writing and recordings at Fox Studio, Venice.
Equally relentless in emotional weight to a desire for reprieve, Euphoric Recall reflects the incessant itch to sort through the distorted haunts of the mind. Due to the nature of MØAA’s isolated writing process, some songs embodied letters that would never be sent, while others served as a sonically induced salve, to take the edge off by generating a dissociative dream state. These motivations behind the writing ultimately formed the dynamic nature of Euphoric Recall and how it moves melodically through a spectrum of melancholy, suspense, and reflection while maintaining a consistently moody and reverberated soundscape.
Opening with ‘Exist’, a hypnotic beat takes immediate hold before ethereal vocals draw you deeper into the track. All this before the mesmerising guitar riff rises to dominance and send you further down the rabbit hole; as opening tracks go its as strong as you’ll ever get. ‘X Marks’ features a heady combination of duelling vocals and a sound that represents dream pop at its finest and ‘Flashlight’ hints at the writer’s American roots, shimmering to the surface. ‘O2’ offers something darker, more intense with a motorik beat and distortion a plenty. ‘Tracer’ twists and turns, enthralling and captivating from the first note. With fuzzed out bass lines and effected vocals, it’s the type of track you need to keep listening too in order to dissect what’s actually going on.
‘Lam’ continues with the darker presence evident, and the combination of deeply seductive guitar and drum patterns lulls you into the track without you even realising what is happening, its only when it ends the spell is broken. ‘Dilate’ is a bit starker and creates a musical juxtaposition, whilst maintaining the overall feel and theme of the LP. The clearer guitar sound picks through the darkness and shines. ‘Night Vision’ continues this but adds lashings of fuzz and haze to the guitars. ‘Don’t Mind’ is heavy yet melodic and is a dissonant dungeon requiem which at its finale evaporates into the dystopian driving psychedelic outro of ‘Diffuse’.
MØAA cover some dark topics in Euphoric Recall but presents them so dreamily it could be easy to lose the message. When the darkness prevails its wrapped in dreams and despite lyrical odes to love-hate relationships, ego collapse, and hazy hallucinations which could be too much, it’s an intoxicating listen.
Order here
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