With the release of 2014’s Invitation to Hold EP, 2016’s Space and 2019’s Nothing Hurts Forever, Antwerp-based shoegazer outfit Newmoon have established a sound and approach that meshes elements of shoegaze, post-punk and alternative rock with dreamy melodies and atmospheric soundscapes paired with emotive lyrics.
The Belgian shoegazer outfit’s third album Temporary Light is slated for a March 22, 2024 release through PIAS Recordings across the European Union and Manifesto Entertainment, a new imprint of Quiet Panic, across the US. Temporary Light reportedly marks the next step in the band’s musical evolution, showcasing their growth as a band and musicians — and their dedication to creating transformative music. Sonically speaking, the album sees the Belgian outfit returning to their roots to embrace an abrasive yet ethereal sound — but with a fresh approach. The band’s new drummer Conor Dawson enriches the band’s signature penchant for grand yet delicate melodies with rhythmic finesse, adding a layer of depth and musicality to the album’s material.
“Thick layers of guitars always felt natural to us, and are kind of our main thing. We wanted to explore some ideas that have been in the back of our mind ever since we started this band,” Newmoon’s Bert Cannaerts explains. “As soon as we let go of trying to write a specific type of album, the songs grew organically and everything just clicked.”
Temporary Light‘s first single is the slow-burning and brooding “Fading Phase.” Built around thunderous drumming and swirling layers of shimmering and painterly guitar textures around the verses, a stormy and towering feedback and reverb-drenched solo paired with dreamily plaintive vocals, “Fading Phase” channels Souvlaki-era Slowdive and A Storm in Heaven-era The Verve and feels as comforting as pulling a warm blanket over you on a chilly night.
“While writing this album Bert got a new guitar. It was an older Rickebacker from the 90’s with loads of wear and tear on it already,” the band says of the new single. “Definitely a guitar that had been loved by an older guitar player before he got it. The main riff of “Fading Phase” was the first thing he wrote on that guitar and after that the whole song just kind of wrote itself. Definitely one of those moments where everything just falls into place.”
The accompanying video follows the members of the Belgian shoegazer outfit getting together for a night out in Antwerp, bar and club hopping, then stop at a house party before heading home, bleary eyed.