Smooth, sophisticated sounding, sensual and soulful. That’s enough about me, but it is safe to say that these are all superlatives that are easily applied to the music made by Moonlight Rhythm Society. And not only is Extraordinary Day a particularly fine example of their perfectly wrought and discerning sonics, the addition of Sage Myers’s deft and delicate vocals is the icing on the cake.
Extraordinary Day is one of those love songs that transcends the usual schmaltz and sentimentality that is the hallmark of too many songs in this realm and feels like it is part of a more realistic world, one that is relatable and real, honest and recognisable. A song about brief encounters and fleeting moments, bitter-sweet partings and fond memories: we’ve all been there; we will all be there again. It is part of the human experience, and as songs go, whole, orders of magnitude above the usual love songs about night clubs and text messages and other such banality.
And musically, too, the band are in fine form. The usual gorgeous tones and textures are woven together to create a succulent and sensational musical vehicle, one forged of chiming keyboard cascades, understated beats and bass and spacious guitars throwing in gentle motifs into the spaces between the vocals.
As always, Moonlight Rhythm Society wander the fringes of mainstream accessibility at a point where such more commercial sounds wash against the ornateness of jazz and the sensitivity of soul. And if the song is about missing someone, it comes from a place of celebration rather than sadness, which perfectly embodies the phrase, “absence makes the heart grow fonder.”
As I have long said, Moonlight Rhythm Society are a great example of what mainstream, chart-bound and thoroughly commercial music could be about. It ticks all the right boxes in terms of gentle groove, subtle addictiveness and ease of accessibility. But it is so much more too. The music is brilliantly woven together, layers of gossamer sonics all laid one on top of the other, the instruments never vying for space, instead creating a translucent cascade of sonic hues.
Imagine if such songs were the sonic norm for mainstream music. Imagine if we were to shrug off the record label vision of pop music, the using of the same tried and tested templates, the same old musical gimmicks, and fill that space with truly dexterous and imaginative, creative and talented artists. Artists such as Moonlight Rhythm Society. Wouldn’t that be something? The quiet revolution beckons. Who’s with me?
