Cleopatrick – ‘Fake Moon’ album review: mastering fluidity among the chaos
THE SKINNY: Fake Moon was never set to be just a sophomore album, it was always intended as a reckoning of sorts—a jilted foray into something beyond usual limitations, where expansiveness takes the reins. Cleopatrick duo Ian Fraser and Luke Gruntz set their sights on something murkier and more overcast than their indie debut, Bummer, and for the most part, it works.
While these tunes offer a delectable array of everything ambiguous and all-encompassing about living in today’s convoluted, digital-first world, their flavour of softer, considered indie-rock morphs into something floatier, lighter, though no less grounded than their previous effort, allowing the record to breathe in ways the debut never did, or could.
From start to finish, it’s clear where the strongest contenders lie, with ‘Heat Death’, ‘Please’, ‘Big Machine’, and ‘Love You’ emerging on top. This signals a newfound pacing with Cleopatrick in no rush to define their next chapter of self-reflection and sonic immersion while still incorporating many of the facets that made them so endearing in the first place.
While some of these moods can feel somewhat directionless or too loose to be fully grounded, many of these choices work in their favour, creating a more spacious affair where weightlessness and ambiguity hit just as hard as the grittier moments. It’s a delicate balancing act, but one Cleopatrick executes well, crafting a sense of fluidity amid the chaos.
For fans of: The feeling of being the only person on the planet. Or: 6am walks, midnight drives, and 3am journalling.
A concluding comment from a music theory major: “I can’t tell if this is genius or just a lot of everything without actually saying much.”
Cleopatrick track by track:
Release date: March 14th | Producer: Philip Weinrobe | Label: Nowhere Special Recordings
‘Heat Death’: The interplay of soft and hard is difficult to master, but this opener exercises such dynamics with consideration, making the ambiguities between the softer vocals and more gritty arrangements feel like the perfect tension builder. [3.5/5]
‘Bad Guy’: Although filled with contrasting dynamics in a different way, ‘Bad Guy’ pulls you in tentatively before the arrangements explode into something far more gripping and intentional, like a controlled but expansive exploration of sound and emotion. [3/5]
‘Hammer’: The slightly slower-paced, sluggish demeanour of ‘Hammer’ almost feels inherently grunge-like, offset only by the delicate vocals that lean more towards the dreamlike quality of indie-pop. Still, these unexpected shifts are entirely welcomed and the ultimate sign of refined genre-blending. [3.5/5]
‘Please’: This track captures this shift in full force. Feeling almost weightless, ‘Please’ dissolves into an ethereal sonic haze, capturing Cleopatrick’s commitment to purposeful indie-leaning distortion. [3/5]
‘Softdrive’: Despite the overarching push and pull that defines this entire track, it once again proves the duo’s adeptness at creating sonic transformations that feel spacious yet entirely intentional, like the firm gravitational root never fails to make you feel like you’re floating. [3/5]
‘Chew’: The consistent, thumping rhythm of ‘Chew’ feels like a nice, warm contrast to the weightlessness of the previous track, giving the album a broader richness that keeps you engaged even at the midway point. [3/5]
‘Big Machine’: One of the most endearing melodic structures on FAKE MOON, ‘Big Machine’ is a soft lament that brings you into its soft embrace. [3.5/5]
‘Sarah’: That post-punk, grunge-like feel strikes again the moment ‘Sarah’ begins, hinting at an underlying melancholy or grittiness that grounds the entire project, even as it reaches up towards something more atmospheric. [3/5]
‘Fake Moon’: The lead vocals take centre stage on his haunting title track, tracing the ambiguous lines of our convoluted experience, falling between light and dark while pushing the parameters of soft, delicate, acoustic indie pop. [3.5/5]
‘Love You’: For this powerful album closer, Cleopatrick exhume the flames of their emotional core, letting the track burn slowly before turning into something more cathartic with unrestrained explosive energy. [3.5/5]
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