Moondog Matinee are the latest and greatest act to come barreling out of Reno, Nevada, and it’s our absolute pleasure to share them with you all. After finishing up a headlining slot at Reno Sculpture Fest and releasing their EP, Live from the Moon Room, this past Friday, the band is blazing a trail that bares no end in sight. Heading to Lightning in a Bottle this year as well, we’re happy to say that Moondog Matinee is a name you will be hearing a lot more often as we continue into 2016. The 4 track EP opens with the haunting stand out single, ‘Ghost Dime’, a perfect expression of the band’s preference to layering chunky riffs, blues-y vocals and clean bass and percussion. Next up, ‘I Wanna Know’ embodies an upbeat yet ruggedness that feels reminiscent of The Black Keys – dialed in percussion and nice, tight bass rhythms.
Tracks like ‘Gold’ will have you on your feet rejoicing and singing aloud with explosive vocalist Peter Barnato, whose larger-than-life persona seems to channel a rock n roll legend brought back from the past. Their howling track ‘Last Night the Devil Learned My Name’ solidifies their place as a fresh rock band to really put your faith into – you’d think the band were conjuring up Satan himself to join the party. And finally, to round out the EP, the band leaves us with a bonus track. An enigmatic take on The Rolling Stones’ ‘Heartbreaker’ gives you a straight up rock n roll grit that ends the album with listeners begging to hit that replay. ‘Live from the Moon Room’ is an engaging and heroic display of just what Moondog Matinee is bringing to the scene, and we’re more than pleased to welcome them with open arms.
