THE SOFT MOON SHARES NEW TRACK “INSIDES”

o set to paring down his post-apocalyptic soundscapes. What was began as barely controlled exorcism became an exercise in control, and after six months of intently shaping Zeros on his own, Vasquez met with producer/engineer Monte Vallier at his San Francisco studio where he could get loud, beat on things, scream.

The result is complete immersion. Zeros opens with “It Ends,” a rumbling eerie epic that explodes and then fades. The slowing breath and pulse at the finish signify our break with reality as consciousness drifts deeper into Vasquez’ world. Welcoming us into “Machines,” a demon utters unclear incantations over snapping drums and flange-warped tones, while the titular song gives us a beat to dance to as a strange voice gushes lascivious “aahhhs” from a cloud of swirling synths. Songs like “Insides” and “Crush” feel utterly inward-looking-a loner’s cry buried in soil and metal shavings-but “Remember the Future” bounces like a twisted John Carpenter score, and “Die Life” lashes out at everything within reach. Listen closely and you’ll hear the sounds of the creatures and people that survived whatever catastrophe created this space: chirping insects, bawling whales, strained howls, jungle percussion, tribal chanting. It’s this basic stuff that makes Zeros familiar-the animal need to not be alone in the dark, to be heard by another living thing even whilst working solo, The Soft Moon as the lone wolf. This becomes clearest as the album approaches its close and the whipcrack snares of “Lost Years” give way to the wild hand drums of “Want.” The aggressively hypnotic build eventually runs smack into the wall of “ƨbnƎ ƚI,” a reversal of the opener that slowly, surely, delivers us back to the waking world-untouched, yes, but not unchanged.