Moin - You Never End (Black Vinyl)

You Never End is the third album from Valentina Magaletti, Tom Halstead, and Joe Andrews (Moin) out via AD 93. Its title alone expresses the teetering and shifting nature of both the album and band. This record marks the Moin's shift into a new phase with vocal collaborations across the album from Olan Monk, james K, Coby Sey and Sophia Al-Maria. The album's collaborators all have voices that are alluring in their own right whilst hard to pin down: from james K's ethereal, reverb drenched vocals, Coby Sey's words that bounce and echo across London's concrete streets and Olan Monk's emotive songwriting, while artist Sophie Al-Maria's voice and thoughts are known to stretch across her multidisciplinary practice as an artist, filmmaker and writer. The unique mystique of each collaborator is maintained throughout the record while simultaneously opening Moin up to new possibilities, in a gentle shifting alchemy. Continuing their enigmatic re-configuring of the traditional band, Moin use a mix of conventional and unique production and compositional techniques. Subtly re-framing the current conversation about what the band in 2024 needs to be, Moin walk the line between what's reassuringly familiar and what's unsettling and inquisitive. You Never End is a more sensitive record in sentiment, it re-contextualizes grunge, shoegaze and indie rock with a weirdly comforting melancholy while still sounding direct and alive. Showing Moin at their most accessible, the vocal collaborations bring the most articulate moments and lucid emotion while still remaining uniquely within Moin's established world. Alongside this, the record fine tunes the elements of electronic production that have always been a feature of the band's unique sound in a deeply subtle way. Elements are simpler and more direct, offering robust functional support as well as textural and emotional resonance. Together they show the potential for both practices to intertwine. You Never End is both produced and mixed by Tom and Joe, demonstrating the extended range of control the pair have over the band's sound, and their ability to truly hold together Moin's intricate world.