One of the best power pop bands of recent years, Northampton’s The On Offs, are currently on hold. But in the meantime bassist Andy Crofts from the band has started a new project: The Moons.
Moving from bass to guitar, Croft’s new outfit have much more eclectic influences than The On Offs. From listening to their four track demo the basic sound seems to be a mix of chirpy Britpop-type tunes polished off with Beatles/Kinks melodies. But there is much more to The Moons than this. On Nightmare Day the band mix ska rhythms with twangy, echo-y guitars to great effect. And Intermission Rag continues with the Joe Meek-style twang, alongside studio effects (theremin, tape delays etc.) and finishes with a spooky snippet of Crofts singing ‘Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside’. It makes for an intriguing song; one that perhaps the old maverick Meek himself would have been proud to produce. More importantly, it hints at some potentially fascinating future Moons material to accompany their sharp guitar pop.
The band are launching a charm offensive in London with several gigs coming up in the next few months. They are sure to add more UK dates soon: why not ask them to come to your town? For as long as The On Offs are, er, off we should perhaps count ourselves lucky
to be hearing The Moons producing such interstellar tunes. With a little luck and some hard work hopefully the lad will be heading for star-dom before too long. Remember, you heard them hear first.
Listen to The Moons yourself at their Myspace page here.
Ive heard a rumour that Andy Crofts from The Moons is to be playing hammond organ for Paul Weller on his new may tour and Steve Pilgrim from Liverpool on drums.