Odds are Dead Moon has been there. In the Parthenon of Northwest punk (all hail a band that calls Clackamas home!) and fiercely independent music, they are among the godfathers, as old as the skyscraping firs that comprise our wilderness. A laundry list of where they've been would yield bear hunting in Alaska, draft dodging, and a studio resume that stretches over more than ten self-produced, rough hewn albums.
They are once and future paragons of what it means to be DIY and proud. Formed from the enduring creative thrust of Fred Cole and wife Toody Cole, Dead Moon took on its present incarnation when Andrew Loomis was brought on board in 1987 to play drums. The past two decades have seen the band epitomize the hard touring American band, largely ignored domestically and adored in Europe. It's an old story perhaps, but one no less heartening when the earnest, thrilling results are quite clear.
The album is appropriately rough (it could be nothing else). On Echoes of the Past much of the Dead Moon catalog is given its proper peace. There are 49 songs compiled on the two discs, all falling into the category of crowd pleasing favorites. "Dead Moon Night", "54/40 Or Fight" and "Room 213" are wholly indicative of what being in the imagination of the Cole/Loomis collaboration looks like. For fans of punk with polish, this isn't quite the place to look. Even at their most refined, Dead Moon is raw and spirited, pulling influence from Nuggets bands, Pere Ubu and Television, even the Supersuckers whose rootsy appeal is all over their catalog.
One quibble with Echoes of the Past might be that it doesn't allow for a live segment (their live shows are regionally renowned). Capturing the Dead Moon kinetic concert energy would have put this release over the top as an essential for punk enthusiasts. Regardless, it's hard to say, considering its sheer girth that anything is truly missing here. Ideally, this is only a means of sustenance until they're back around again. Shouldn't be long now. |