Indie-pop legend Richard Davies has reassembled his band The Moles and the group will release their upcoming 2xLP Code Word on October 19th via Super Secret Records. Originally formed in Sydney, Australia in the late 80’s, the band released their debut LP Untune the Sky in 1992 before moving to New York. After putting out a pair of seven-inch singles while living in the city, later packaged together as the “Double Single” EP on Seaside Records, the group continued on to London, before breaking up in 1993.
A year later, Davies would assemble a new line-up for the band and release the LP Instinct via Flydaddy Records. This iteration of the band would end up parting ways in 1996, but in 2016 Davies would reignite the project, with help from members of Sugar and Sebadoh, resulting in the LP Tonight’s Music (Fire Records). In addition to his work with The Moles, as well as his own solo activities, Davies has also partnered with the multi-instrumentalist Eric Matthews to form the legendary chamber pop band Cardinal, and in 2009 he also collaborated with Guided By Voices frontman Robert Pollard to form the project Cosmos.
The Moles upcoming 16-track effort Code Word finds Davies working with an expanded group of musicians, with line-ups for the band existing in New York, Detroit, Austin, Mexico City, Easthampton, and Somerville. “Moon In the Daytime” kicks off the new collection, and it is our first listen in on Code Word. Recorded in Easthampton, MA, the track finds Davies joined by the musicians Bob Fay, Andy Goulet, and Will Courtney. Intricately tuneful and beautifully crafted, the song is suffused by the dry warmth of Davies’ vocals. Musing on the state of heavenly orbs and that peculiar sensation of seeing the moon out in the daytime, the track’s catchy pop is imbued with galloping percussion and subtle bursts of noise and feedback.
You can catch The Moles live in Austin, TX at Beerland on October 18th for the Code Word record release party.
