‘Sounds as if Buddy Holly and Chris Isaak made a record with Damien Jurado. The slowmotion-surf on “10,000 suns” as well as the Folk-Blues “Run” with it’s sizzling analogue amps are outstanding.’ Rolling Stone
Since the 2023 release of their critically acclaimed debut album, Vol 1, MOONRIIVR has quickly made a name for itself. Respected producer and bandleader, Gavin Gardiner (Wooden Sky, All Day Coconut) and renowned guitarist, “Champagne” James Robertson (Lindi Ortega, Dwayne Gretzkey) have respectively made their mark on Canada’s musical landscape, and together, are eying new frontiers. Their aesthetic is taped together by vintage gear and a deep love for the weirder fringes of ‘60s pop psychedelia. Timeless melodies drift over vintage rhythms – made by drummer Lyle Molzan (Corb Lund, Kathleen Edwards) & bassist Ben Whitely (The Weather Station) – touching on influences from the golden era of Western pop music while maintaining a distinctive and innovative sound.
The songs on MOONRIIVR’s aptly titled debut, Vol. 1, came together on an old analogue tape machine, laced with sweetly reverberating slide guitars, wonky string synths, and nimble percussive environments. MOONRIIVR’s knack for creating sonic worlds that are at once lightly trippy and wholly inviting means that, as much as Vol. 1 draws on inspirations from decades past, it maintains a pleasing, distinctly out-of-time feel. The band half-jokingly likened the album to ‘Buddy Holly meets Krautrock’, and strange as it sounds it’s not far off the mark.