Two years of relentless touring can either make or break a band. In the case of Montreal indie quartet Half Moon Run, it seems to have been the former. After playing their last date in support of their debut, 2012’s Dark Eyes, the band set about writing material for their follow up.
Produced by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Adele), and recorded at the famed Bathouse Studios on the shores of Lake Ontario, Sun Leads Me On is somewhat typical of second albums in that it finds the band walking the line of trying new things while staying true to what connected them to their audience in the first place.
The title track is a nod to the Alt-Folk sounds that peppered Dark Eyes, as is the opening offering “Warmest Regards” and the more optimistic “Hands In The Garden”. “Turn Your Love” is a more up-tempo pop-rocker with some relentless guitar lines and splashes of synth. “Throes” is a somewhat oddly placed Piano instrumental that is either haunting or self-indulgent (you decide) while ” The Debt” could almost belong on OK Computer, and that’s not something this corner tosses out lightly. It’s my favorite track of theirs so far and you can hear it along with the rest of the new record below
Sun Leads Me On
1. Warmest Regards
2. I Can’t Figure Out What’s Going On
3. Consider Yourself
4. Hands in the Garden
5. Turn Your Love
6. Narrow Margins
7. Sun Leads Me On
8. It Works Itself Out
9. Everybody Wants
10. Throes
11. Devil May Care
12. The Debt
13. Trust
