I spent the latter half of my college years in the mid-90s obsessed with all things industrial music, so anything contemporary that evokes even the slightest trace of the industrial vibe from about the mid-80s to the early 90s gets my heart racing. Last year when the Soft Moon’s new disc arose, Deeper, I was immediately turned on to the relatively subtle underpinnings of Trent Reznor’s vocal delivery on tunes like “Black” and “Being,” the urgency of “Far,” and the melancholic Depeche Mode mimicry of “Wasting” (my favorite song on Deeper, and one my favorite songs of 2015).
The Soft Moon is a unique unit in terms of its make-up, musicianship, and performance chops. The band is basically the possession of Luis Vasquez, who conceived of the Soft Moon as a musical project geared to casting out some personal demons. After releasing a couple of singles in 2010, Vasquez signed with the Captured Tracks label, recorded a self-titled LP and several years later released a dark, gloomy, industrial, electro pop album – the brilliant Deeper.
Suffice it to say, the Soft Moon’s live performance is solid and demonstrates an even darker, moodier, and harder side to the band than is evidenced in their studio recordings. Over the year I have been listening to Deeper, I considered the album akin to Nitzer Ebb’s subtle industrial sound, as well as Depeche Mode’s darker moments, like in Black Celebration.
As the set began, a crowd member asked Vazquez how he was feeling. The band leader replied “better this time!” A reference to the Soft Moon’s last stop in Denver a year ago when the entire band had the flu. Given that experience, it was evident the guys seemed determined to throw all of their energy into this show. The primary strength of the Soft Moon’s live set is the group’s total reinterpretation of their recorded tunes into something more fitting for a concert setting. Vasquez has gone through a couple of live lineups, but I love the current composition of the band. Vasquez plays guitar and is joined by two other musicians, a drummer and bassist (who occasionally contributes to percussion). The Soft Moon began the set with the first tune on Deeper, “Black,” featuring pre-recorded synths working as a backdrop to both the drummer and bassist pounding out drum beats colliding against Vazquez’s whispery vocal delivery.
The live set was not simply a vehicle to promote Deeper, as the band dug into the Soft Moon’s earlier albums. Interlaced with the live interpretations of newer tunes were songs from the self-titled disc like “Circles” and “Dead Love.” Many of Vazquez’s earlier compositions are instrumentals, the interpretations of which fit the vibey mood of the show. At a couple of points, such as when the band performed “Wrong,” Vazquez pulled out an old garbage can and wailed away on it to reproduce the great percussive groove on Deeper. My only regret is that the Vazquez refrained from performing my album favorite “Wasting” during the encore, out of either sheer exhaustion (understandable as all of the band members really threw their energies into the performance), or perhaps because the more subdued tune didn’t really fit the tone of the show. In any event, the Soft Moon delivered a great live overview of their intriguing catalogue of songs.