The Act: MOON PANDA

The Release: 'MOONRISE'

The Format: DIGITAL SINGLE

The Release Date: DECEMBER 1ST 2021

The Digital Link: https://moonpanda.bfan.link/moonrise

The Truth: coming from the cosmic lands of Copenhagen and California, Moon Panda is a worldly wise unit fronted up by songwriter/singer/bassist Maddy Myers (she be the young American) and guitarist Gustav Moltke (he be the great Dane). ‘Moonrise’ is their brand new single, and the third track to be taken from their debut album, ‘What On Earth’, which we are dazzled to type will be released on fierce panda on March 4th 2022.

‘Moonrise’ explores a rousing and expansive soundscape of grooving psychedelia, existing in various incarnations in Moon Panda’s canon. Speaking further about the track, Maddy Myers explains “This song has had so many lives. It started out being called Bmo, the name of our dog. It was basically a love song to her about how wild she was and how fast she could run. But she’s not too into music unfortunately, so we ended up changing the lyrics a few days before recording the album. Now it’s yet another song about Gustav and I taking on the hardships of life together, and ultimately choosing happiness. I think there’s a lot about choosing happiness and joy in this album. That’s a trick I’ve been practising a lot lately.”

'Moonrise' is a nifty follow-up to the 'Cloud Watching' single, which popped up in November, which itself was a speedy follow-up to the ‘Vacationer’ single, which dropped mid-October. That's about the only hectic thing about Moon Panda, who peddle a sumptuously pretty and vacant sound which has drawn comparisons to Beach House, Lana Del Ray, Mazzy Star, Warpaint, Jerry Burns, Tame Impala, Daughter and a very, very stoned Raveonettes. (And if Maddy's reference to a pet called Bmo triggered some memories of past adventure times then the 'Vacationer' video will tickle your languid animation boxes over at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oSCsi9GK0s for sure).

Yet behind that casually fragrant demeanor lurks a fierce Moon Panda work ethic. Landing in Austin for SXSW 2020, they found that the festival had been cancelled and the rest of the world was heading to hell in a covid handcart. Undeterred, the Moon Panda group re-grouped and worked out a Plan B, as Maddy explains: "We drove our rented van around to all these national parks, hiked around, and made makeshift studios everywhere we went. We’d stopped rehearsing and started jamming. It changed the way I thought about music and making music. This time it just felt…monumental, maybe because the entire world was going through something together.”

So in so many ways Moon Panda never stopped believing throughout lockdown, they just relieved themselves with their music: their amiably melancholic ‘Make Well’ EP meandered out in June ‘21, followed by a suitably casual cover of The Strokes’ ‘Call It Fate, Call It Karma’ which slunk out as part of fierce panda’s Covid Version Sessions. Another wee corona-shaped hole was filled by the stand alone springtime single ‘Visions’. Along the way, as love from Lauren Laverne on BBC 6music grew, Moon Panda realised they were accidentally indulging in a spot of public service broadcasting: as the streaming figures multiplied, so did the messages of thanks from the lockdowned masses across the globe who were using Moon Panda’s music to transport themselves out of their locked down discomfort zones.

Fingers crossed next time they fly into Austin for SXSW 2022 the Moon Panda landing will be softer than snow.

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