Reverberating with strength, Toronto rock team cleopatrick unleashed their second album, “FAKE MOON,” out via their independent imprint, Nowhere Special Recordings. Renowned for a raw, high-voltage sound, the Cobourg, Ontario duo Luke Gruntz and Ian Fraser ventures farther than ever into their psyche, resulting in a record that matches lo-fi intimacy with massive, atmospheric production.
An ode to their growth, “FAKE MOON” finds cleopatrick pushing into their boldest territory yet. The 10-track album, totaling 31 minutes and 48 seconds, exemplifies a new level of depth in songwriting and soundscaping, a deliberate change from a new recording method. Finally, the band opened their creative circle, adding additional guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Mike Haldeman and producer Philip Weinrobe (Adrianne Lenker, Hand Habits, Tomberlin). In Weinrobe’s Brooklyn studio, they built a world in which instinct outstripped convention, where rough live-tracked takes and far-out recording techniques were embraced rather than avoided.
From the title track, “FAKE MOON,” which pulses with haunting melodies and brooding intensity, to “HEAT DEATH,” a scorching anthem of controlled chaos, the album rides contrasts, soft, heavy, minimalist, and explosive. Each song arrives like a raw, unwrapped dispatch from the creative bloodstream of cleopatrick’s being, a blend of instinct and practice that thrives at the intersection of burning passion and divisive craft.
With “FAKE MOON,” cleopatrick has shown us that they aren’t just repeating what works, they’re reinventing themselves live. This album cements their status as one of the most digestible and compelling forces of modern post-rock, offering up an experience that’s as surreal as it is unforgettable.
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