by Dean Wolfe, Prog dog Media [album released August 15, 2022]
Every once in a great while, a band you’ve never heard before arrives with such confidence and originality that it commands your attention from the first note.
Moon Letters, a five-piece progressive rock band from Seattle, have independently released their third album, Thank You From the Future. The title cleverly plays with the idea of time, which is fitting, because their music seems to exist simultaneously in the present and in the rich legacy of progressive rock’s past.
Moon Letters waste no time establishing their intentions. From the album’s opening moments, they make it clear that progressive rock is very much alive and thriving. There is no attempt to hide their influences or downplay their ambition. Their progressive credentials are on full display, delivered with conviction and skill. If this album fails to turn a few heads, I would be surprised.
They exploit this genre with great confidence. They keep engaging the listener with their peculiar fresh energy and a seemingly boundless reservoir of creativity and originality. Nothing stale about this collection of 7 songs, despite the fact that there's plenty of winks at the prog traditions that they are undoubtedly steeped in.
Each song is packed with inventive and quirky instrumental passages, yet the musicianship never overshadows the vocals. Three band members contribute lead and supporting vocals, with Michael Trew taking the primary role while also adding expressive flute work. His voice occasionally brought to mind Michael Sadler of Saga, though his style is distinctive enough to resist easy comparison.
Like the rest of the band, Trew is highly accomplished, and his vocal delivery fits the music naturally. At times, he brings a theatrical quality that adds to the album’s dramatic atmosphere.
According to the band’s official description, the lyrics explore themes of personal growth, the future of the world, and science-fiction visions of the space age—subjects that are particularly well suited to the adventurous spirit of progressive rock.
If Moon Letters were ever to have a breakout song hit, it would likely be in the grand, unpredictable spirit of Bohemian Rhapsody. This is a relentlessly progressive band, committed to constant movement and musical exploration. At times the music becomes almost frenetic, but that restlessness is part of its appeal. The songs rarely linger in one place for long, and repetition is kept to a minimum.
Listening to this album, you are keenly aware that you are hearing a true band in the fullest sense of the word—a group of musicians whose individual contributions combine into something larger than the sum of its parts. There is a palpable chemistry here, reminiscent of the distinctive interplay that defined The Doors.
Any sense of grandeur comes less from studio production than from the strength and imagination of the songwriting itself. While traces of psychedelia surface throughout the album, they serve as subtle accents rather than a dominant element of the band’s sound.
watch our prog chat with Moon Letters here
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