Oceans of The Moon

Embracing a garagey, psych-damaged variety of space rock, Oceans of the Moon is a mix of indie rock and thrift store electronics from former Six Finger Satellite member Rick Pelletier. On the group's self-titled 2019 debut album, Oceans of the Moon mix buzzy keyboards and minimal guitars with acoustic and electronic percussion, and the result is music that's propulsive but with an air of mystery and menace that feels like an updated variation on a '50s sci-fi soundtrack. Oceans of the Moon grew out of leader Rick Pelletier's work in his project La Machine, which overlapped with the final years of Six Finger Satellite in the mid- to late '90s. La Machine took SFS' interest in both rock and synthesizers and pushed forward the influences of dance music, and while La Machine had few official releases during their lifetime, John Dwyer of Thee Oh Sees issued a posthumous collection of their music, Phases & Repetition, on his Castle Face label in 2013. Around that time, Pelletier (who had finished a stint with the indie rock band the Chinese Stars) and La Machine drummer Jon Loper started collaborating with synthesizer player Dare Matheson, exploring their shared fascination with Motorik rhythms and R&B grooves. When Dwyer heard recordings of the new group, he offered to release their debut album, and Castle Face issued Oceans of the Moon in July 2019.
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