When you listen to the vast majority of bands, you tend to hear the same things: drums, bass, guitar, and of course…vocals. But considering that vocals are often just the icing on the cake, an extra level of garnish for a balanced dish, does making accessible music really require the use of a vocalist? Short answer: no. Just look towards the Austin trio Moon Medallion, who got started in 2020 in search of a lead singer. When they couldn’t find a perfect fit, Moon Medallion nixed the idea and revamped their song structures into strictly instrumentals.
Since then they’ve flaunted a nocturnal talisman of punk, shoegaze, surf, post-hardcore, and the more experimental aspects of psychedelia. Last year they enchanted listeners with a string of standalone singles and a Southwestern US tour, and more recently Moon Medallion captured the waxing lunar cycle with a Beck-inspired garage-punk masterpiece, “New age let-down”. Moon Medallion’s far from waning, with more material on the way, a live performance May 21st at Indian Roller, and a West Coast tour in June.
–Jack Anderson
