ALBUM REVIEW: Vanishing Twin – Ookii Gekkou

Fire Records

Released: 15.10.21

If 2019’s The Age Of Immunology highlighted Vanishing Twin as worthy successors in a lineage housing the likes of Broadcast and Stereolab, this third full-length sees the London quartet refine their own increasingly unfettered path. Translated from Japanese as ‘Big Moonlight’, Ookii Gekkou carries the air of a late-night experiment whose allure improbably endures come sunrise.

By design, it’s a difficult record to pin down. Shifting strands of Afro-funk and stargazing jazz to the fore, it’s a set rich with intrigue whose ice-cool meanderings nevertheless prove peculiarly accessible. Indeed, be it on exploratory cuts such as The Organism – a genuinely odd amalgamation of astral bloops, scuttling xylophone and mightily satisfied cats – or the delightful psych-pop nuggets Light Vessel, Tub Erupt and The Lift, Ookii Gekkou’s eclectic ventures illuminate throughout.