Label: Western VinylRelease Date: 3rd October Heady dizzyingly joyful indie dance punk funk. It has that feel of Talking Heads, Vampire Weekend, ESG and Tune-Yards in which the grooves feel tight, like they're smashing together like dodgems but as you scope out everything is dancing in an insatiable organised chaos. Ava Luna’s self-titled album marks a grounded and introspective evolution for the Brooklyn quartet. Now consisting of Carlos Hernandez, Julian Fader, Ethan Bassford, and Felicia Douglass, the band returns after a long hiatus with a stripped-down sound centered on drums, bass, and dual vocals. This back-to-basics approach, a shift from the "cosmic" feel of their previous Moon 2, is rooted in shared NYC experiences and the rhythms of everyday life. Themes of exhaustion, community, and precarious joy emerge across tracks like“Lasting Impression,” about job-weariness, and “Math Money Job,” a playful chant on reunion and embodiment. Julian’s drums and Ethan’s bass drive the album, inspired in part by Soul Coughing’s raw sampling style, heard on tracks like “Frame of Us.” Vocally, Carlos and Felicia move as one—blending, harmonizing, and fragmenting with intent, especially on “Archive.” Though minimalist at its core, the album’s sound is lush and textural, enriched bycongas from reggae legend Larry McDonald, piano, samples, and guitar noise. Songs like “Social Diving” and “My Walk” reflect personal and urban histories, while “Your Man” and “Fancy” speak to resilience and dignity. The result is Ava Luna at its most honest and refined—a portrait of NYC and of a band still evolving, still urgent.
