Genre/Influences: Dark wave, post-punk.

Background/Info: Album number 4 for solo-artist and multi-instrumentalist Luis Vasquez. “Criminal” describes Luis going to war with himself through confession and finds him battling with shame, guilt, his own sanity, self-hatred, insecurity and self-entitlement. He reveals his feelings from his violent childhood which makes it a self-reflective album, released to find relief for his own wrongdoings and for those done by others that have affected him.

Content: “Burn”, the first song, has an amazing bassline and a screaming, almost howling Vasquez, which is definitely something we’re not used to hear on previous albums. “Choke” is a very danceable song full of soft synths with a whispering voice over it. The first 2 songs remind you automatically of the older works of Nine Inch Nails. Time for some moody calm stuff then with “Give Something” followed by the EBM/industrial track “Like A Father”. The deep raw bass on the exploding song “The Pain” sounds amazing, which makes it one of the better songs! The guitars on “It Kills”, a downtempo track, will calm you down in your mind and make you think and dream away. This atmosphere is abruptly broken by “ILL”, that best can be defined as a mixture of dubstep and noise. More soft synths and whispering voices on “Young” followed by the uptempo “Born Into This”. The guitars on “Criminal” are in perfect combination with the synths, which makes it the climax of another typical Soft Moon masterpiece!

+ + + : The basslines are sounding very deep and low, something The Soft Moon still brings very well, also live on stage. Luis Vasquez definitely knows how to write songs full of darkness.

– – – : The tracks “Like A Father” and “ILL” have a deep contrast with the other songs. They are not bad songs but bring the complete atmosphere a bit out of balance.

Conclusion: Eight years already after the release of the self-titled debut-album, and The Soft Moon keeps delivering darkness and melancholy. Vasquez recorded the 10 tracks about his inner pain in his current hometown Berlin and changed like this his personal childhood traumas into something more succesful.

Best songs: “Burn”, “Choke”, “The Pain”, “It Kills”, “Criminal”.

Rate: (9) WH.

Band: www.thesoftmoon.com / www.facebook.com/thesoftmoon

Label: www.sacredbonesrecords.com / www.facebook.com/sacredbones

“Criminal” is the fourth studio album of The Soft Moon, containing 10 tracks, which is released on 2nd of February 2018 and can be ordered here.

Luis Vasquez (originally from Oakland but nowadays based in Berlin) is the multi-instrumentalist and singer behind this post-punk/darkwave project. The new album describes Luis going to war with himself through confession and finds him battling with shame, guilt, his own sanity, self-hatred, insecurity and self-entitlement. He reveals his feelings from his violent childhood which makes “Criminal” a self-reflective album, released to find relief for his own wrongdoings and for those done by others that have affected him.

Tracklist:
01. Burn
02. Choke
03. Give Something
04. Like a Father
05. The Pain
06. It Kills
07. ILL
08. Young
09. Born Into This
10. Criminal

Tourdates:
02 Feb 2018 One of a Million Festival – Baden, Switzerland
03 Feb 2018 C.S. Rivolta (record release party) – Marghera, Italy
06 Feb 2018 Pumpehuset – Copenhagen, Denmark
07 Feb 2018 Pustervik – Gothenburg, Sweden
08 Feb 2018 Slaktkyrkan – Stockholm, Sweden
09 Feb 2018 Bla – Oslo, Norway
10 Feb 2018 Grauzone festival – The Hague, Netherlands
11 Feb 2018 Urban Spree – Berlin, Germany *SOLD OUT*
12 Feb 2018 Urban Spree – Berlin, Germany *SOLD OUT*
13 Feb 2018 Urban Spree – Berlin, Germany *SOLD OUT*
14 Feb 2018 Le Trabendo – Paris, France
15 Feb 2018 Paradiso Noord, Tolhuistuin – Amsterdam, Netherlands
16 Feb 2018 The Dome & Boston Music Room – London, UK *SOLD OUT*
17 Feb 2018 Botanique – Orangerie – Brussels, Belgium *SOLD OUT*
18 Feb 2018 De Gudde Wellen – Luxembourg, Luxembourg *SOLD OUT*
20 Feb 2018 Amalgame Club – Yverdon-Les-Bains, Switzerland
21 Feb 2018 Magnolia – Milan, Italy
22 Feb 2018 Monk – Rome, Italy
23 Feb 2018 Lanificio 25 – Naples, Italy
24 Feb 2018 Covo Club – Bologna, Italy
07 Mar 2018 Feierwerk / Kranhalle – Munich, Germany
08 Mar 2018 UT Connewitz – Leipzig, Germany
09 Mar 2018 Hafenklang – Hamburg, Germany
10 Mar 2018 Gebaude 9 – Cologne, Germany
11 Mar 2018 Kleiner Klub – Saarbrucken, Germany
13 Mar 2018 Doornroosje – Nijmegen, Netherlands
14 Mar 2018 La Condition Publique – Roubaix, France
15 Mar 2018 Stereolux – Nantes, France
16 Mar 2018 L’Epicerie Moderne – Feyzin, France

27 Mar 2018 Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA, US
28 Mar 2018 Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY, US
29 Mar 2018 Théâtre Fairmount – Montreal, QC, Canada
30 Mar 2018 Longboat Hall at The Great Hall – Toronto, ON, Canada
31 Mar 2018 The Empty Bottle – Chicago, IL, US
02 Apr 2018 Turf Club – St. Paul, MN, US
04 Apr 2018 Larimer Lounge – Denver, CO, US
06 Apr 2018 Mississippi Studios – Portland, OR, US
07 Apr 2018 The Crocodile – Seattle, WA, US
08 Apr 2018 Biltmore Cabaret – Vancouver, BC, Canada
11 Apr 2018 The Independent – San Francisco, CA, US
13 Apr 2018 Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA, US
14 Apr 2018 The Casbah – San Diego, CA, US
16 Apr 2018 The Bunkhouse Saloon – Las Vegas, NV, US
17 Apr 2018 Valley Bar – Phoenix, AZ, US
19 Apr 2018 Three Links – Dallas, TX, US
20 Apr 2018 Barracuda – Austin, TX, US
21 Apr 2018 Paper Tiger – San Antonio, TX, US
22 Apr 2018 Gasa Gasa – New Orleans, LA, US
24 Apr 2018 The Wooly – Gainesville, FL, US
25 Apr 2018 Gramps – Miami, FL, US
26 Apr 2018 Crowbar – Ybor City, FL, US
27 Apr 2018 Aisle 5 – Atlanta, GA, US
28 Apr 2018 The Mothlight – Asheville, NC, US
29 Apr 2018 DC9 Nightclub – Washington, DC, US