Halifax’s Moonwake have briefly emerged from the studio for the first time since May, poking their heads out just long enough to splash a fresh single in our faces and give us a taste of their new sound. “Constant Variable” is the band’s nod to Bill Murray, or at least what they acknowledge is a Bill Murray-type scenario, of finding yourself in a frustratingly repetitive slump, but with synths.
The band explain that “Constant Variable” offers a shorthanded story that is “similar to Groundhog Day where nothing changes, everything stays the same.”
It’s perhaps not entirely a coincidence then that the band have taken the last fourth months to redefine their sound. It’s not a complete overhaul of what you’d expect from Moonwake – there’s still that inverted melody, and off-kilter dance shuffle, but the band have polished things up particularly in the synth department.
“After our showcase at this year’s Canadian Music Week in May we decided to take a break from live shows and focus on writing new material and this will be the first single premiering our new sound,” says Braden Nelson, Moonwake’s synth conductor.
The band attribute that leap forward to some of Nelson’s new toys, and working with producer John Mullane (In-Flight Safety), making for what they assure us will be far less gloomy than their previous Phonetic Limbo EP. Building from a bed of saxophone that bleeds into a bassline, the real start of “Constant Variable” is that dainty little synth melody that has them dancing about like a bunch of dizzying jazz robots.
Of course, “Constant Variable” isn’t the only thing that Moonwake have been working on these past four months. Not only is there new material that the band are just putting the finishing touches on, they’re all be performing with the Halifax Music Co-op as part of Inventions with their full orchestra and choir in Halifax from November 15-17, 2019.