Montreal-based quartet, Half Moon Run, return with details of a second album, ‘Sun Leads Me On’, set for release on 23rd October 2015 (through Glassnote Records).
Written mostly between Montreal and a trip out to California, and recorded at the historic Bathouse Studios in Ontario with acclaimed British producer Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Adele), ‘Sun Leads Me On’ is introduced today by “Trust”, the first piece of music to be unveiled from it.
Listen to Trust here.
Trust is somewhat of a strange song” proclaims multi-instrumentalist Dylan Phillips. “It’s a departure from what you might normally expect from us. It’s the last song we wrote and recorded, and it was put together with a lot of fragmented ideas and somewhat of a chaotic energy. It feels a little bit like starting from the end, but leaves plenty of room to work back towards the beginning.”
Following two years of international touring which saw their debut album – ‘Dark Eyes’ (2012) – rocket past Gold status in Canada, the group became a celebrated live act, but returned home in 2014 worn down and “Oversaturated with each other and the band”, according to newest member Isaac Symonds. They needed to start over. It is from there, drawn by the sun to California on a collective journey of growth and discovery that the next album emerged.
‘Sun Leads Me On’ came from a place that felt a little bit like being underwater,” explains Dylan, “but we kept powering through because ultimately we knew it was worth it. We had this beautiful thing, this wonderful chance, but we were also working our way through a lot of darkness, losing lots of friends, struggles at home, losing our sense of home, trying to let the music guide us but having trouble even finding that. There was a lot of strife in it all, but at the same time the sun just kept pulling us forward, and we just kept pushing forward and trying to find beauty in what we do.”
Frontman Devon Portielje adds: “We went down to California and we were surfing every day. A lot of the tunes we were writing there just came out. ‘Dark Eyes’ took us over seven months to record and we went through two or three recordings of each song, so the vibe got a little lost from what it initially was.”
‘Sun Leads Me On’ is available for pre-order, in a variety of configurations, directly from the band’s website. All such physical pre-orders will included an autographed copy of the album.
Tickets for the newly announced London Roundhouse show will go on general sale to the public on August 14th, but fans can sign up today at www.halfmoonrun.com to receive a code to access presale tickets directly through the band, which will begin on August 12th.
‘SUN LEADS ME ON’ – ALBUM TRACKLISTING:
Warmest Regards
I Can’t Figure Out What’s Going On
Consider Yourself
Hands in the Garden
Turn Your Love
Narrow Margins
Sun Leads Me On
It Works Itself Out
Everybody Wants
Throes
Devil May Care
The Debt
Trust
HALF MOON RUN – UK & EUROPEAN TOUR DATES:
21st September – London, Oslo SOLD OUT
23rd September – Paris, Point Ephémère SOLD OUT
23rd October – Dublin, Whelan’s
26th October – London, Koko SOLD OUT
27th October – Bristol, Trinity
28th October – Manchester, Gorilla
30th October – Leeds, Brudenell
31st October – Glasgow, Oran Mor
1st November – Nottingham, Rescue Rooms
4th November – Paris, Trabendo
5th November – Brussels, Botanique SOLD OUT
6th November – Cologne, Luxor
7th November – Amsterdam, Paradiso Nord SOLD OUT
10th November – Berlin, Lido
23rd March 2016 – London, The Roundhouse ***NEW DATE***
