Following a solid, if a little lacking in impact, EP from earlier this year comes the debut album from the band made up of Fleet Foxes' members Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott and their musical mates, brothers Ian and Peter Murray.
Though Wargo is the main songwriter in Poor Moon, with his voice having a lovely innocence to it and the songs a crispness and refinement, it's the many other instruments and sonic subtleties that really sets these tracks off. Be it the beautifully flawed whistling on opener Clouds Below, the lovely folkie thigh-slapping and fantastical harpsichord whimsy of Phantom Light, or the adorably twee Holiday which recalls 70s lounge-cum-TV show theme music. But then it skews off into a more psychedelic, trippy realm on Waiting For, and it gets swinging and truly rousing, as you would expect from a couple of Fleet Foxes, on Heavens Door with its cosmic folk toughness and Pulling Me Down settles into a strong strumming 60s pop pace.
These chaps are master musicians with the dulcet, chiming eeriness of Bucky Pony a haunting highlight and Come Home has a brief flurry of guitar that's like something from a Mexican-made Spaghetti Western.
While Poor Moon doesn't have the intoxicating power, or reach the soaring heights of Fleet Foxes, it's clear this is more than just a side project.
Stars: 4/5
Verdict: Tranquil folk beauty from Fleet Foxes' pair and their mates
