Line #43 Music/Moonshake


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3	Moonshake were an experimental rock/PostRock band lead by Dave Callahan - of indie rock group The Wolfhounds - and (initially) Margaret Fielder - who was also a founding member of fellow post-rock outfit Laika and later a live guitarist with Music/PJHarvey and Music/{{Wire}}.
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5	The band formed in 1991, naming themselves after the Music/{{Can}} song of the same name, releasing their debut EP - aptly titled ''First'' - the same year, [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness following a more shoegaze-rooted sound]]. Their second EP - ''Secondhand Clothes'' leaned more into the more dub-influenced sound they'd become best known for, and their debut album - ''Eva Luna'' - leaned even further into it alongside other genres like breakbeat, noise rock, post-punk, and krautrock.
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7	After ''Eva Luna'', which was highly acclaimed for its unusual use of sampling and eclectic sonic palette - the band released their third EP - ''Big Good Angel'', where Fielder and Callahan contributed three songs each - before the band basically split in half, with Fielder and bassist John Frennett leaving to form Laika after creative differences. The band then became a duo composed of Callahan and drummer Mig Moreland, leading to the creation of the band's second album, the film noir-esque and sax-and-sample-based ''The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow''.
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9	After this, Moreland left to join Moose (leaving Callahan as the sole original member) and would be replaced by new drummer Kevin Bass. Raymond Dickatay (who'd worked on the ''The Sound'' as a guest-saxophonist) joined as a full-time member, followed by Matt Brewer as the new guitarist and Katherine Gifford guest-starring as a female vocalist live.
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11	After a few live shows, Gifford and Bass would leave to form indie rock group Snowpony, with drumming duties being taken up by Michael Rother (not the one from Music/{{Neu}}). This final lineup would record the group's third and final album, ''Dirty & Divine'', and after the years of self-management and hard touring took their toll, the band amicably split up in 1997. Since then, Callahan has gone on to reform The Wolfhounds, and has teased new Moonshake material but - so far - hasn't put anything out or provided a release date.
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13	!! Discography
14	* First (EP, 1991)
15	* Secondhand Clothes (EP, 1991)
16	* Eva Luna (Album, 1992)
17	* Big Good Angel (EP/Mini-album, 1993)
18	* The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow (Album, 1994)
19	* Dirty & Divine (Album, 1996)
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21	!! Tropes associated with the band include;
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23	* AbusiveParents: The boyfriend mentioned in "Helping Hands"; when the social worker/doctor enters his house, his children have "hungry eyes" and his baby daughter is found with marks around her waist. When Justin comes home from his night shift, he wrestles the infant from the 'manicured hands' and presumably ''[[OffingTheOffspring kills]]'' her.
24	* CapitalismIsBad: Discusssed in "Capital Letters";
25	-->And now the world of skinny models
26	-->Kissing coals [?]
27	-->And Munich streets laid with marble
28	-->And Cologne gives off a heavy mist
29	-->And Paris bridges are all catwalks
30	-->London stocks [?] grow
31	-->And I wouldn't trade in New York
32	-->For all the [?] I could smoke
33	-->...
34	-->Well I came in cold but I was never sold
35	-->That the streets were painted gold
36	-->People with that kind of pay don't give it away
37	-->So I guess I'll go collect my paycheck
38	-->Take some snacks, buy souvenirs
39	* CountryMouse: The protagonist of "Capital Letters" describes themselves as a "crummy fucking creep from the sticks" who moves to the big city, and quickly becomes disillusioned with it.
40	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Big Good Angel'' is this to the already pretty dark-sounding ''Eva Luna'', with a heavier use of noise and dissonance, plus even grimmer subject matter.
41	* DrumAndBass: Though not a full-on [=DnB=] song, "Two Trains" is built upon a wild, jittery breakbeat, as is "Shadows of Tall Buildings" and "House On Fire".
42	* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: ''First'' is a more shoegaze-influenced EP, more in line with Callahan's work with the Wolfhounds. Their later releases featured some shoegaze aspects (e.g "Spaceship Earth" from ''Eva Luna''), but ''First'' is their only release to tackle the style full-on.
43	* EpicInstrumentalOpener: "Joker John" is a nearly 5-minute song that takes just under 2 minutes to introduce any vocals.
44	* EpicRocking: "Just a Working Girl" and "Ghosts of Good Intention" from ''The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow'', at 6 and 7 (nearly 8) minutes long respectively. Additionally, "Coming" from ''First'' and "Drop in the Ocean" from ''Secondhand Clothes'' both last 6 minutes.
45	* FilmNoir: Callahan had a ''very'' strong interest in film noir, and attempted to emulate its aesthetics in the band's music while the then two-piece was making ''The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow'', combining the band's already moody atmosphere with heavier jazz elements.
46	* GuestStar: Music/PJHarvey contributes guest vocals to "Your Last Friend In This Town" and "Just A Working Girl".
47	* ImAHumanitarian: The protagonist of "Flow" mentions how the other character's "skin tastes so salty" and "like mushrooms", and how they'd "swallow [them] whole". The first verse also implies {{Autocannibalism}}.
48	* LighterAndSofter: While the rest of ''The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow'' is hectic and describes a dirty suburban hellscape, closer "Into Deep Neutral" is a poppier and brighter-sounding tune encouraging the listener to find respite in the face the modern world's chaos and pressure.
49	* NewSoundAlbum:
50	** ''Secondhand Clothes'' shifts away from the shoegaze sound of ''First'', incorporating elements of dub and post-punk.
51	** ''The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow'' is a much jazzier effort than the Fielder-era recordings,
52	* PerishingAltRockVoice: Of different extremes - Fielder's voice is fairly low and weak-sounding, while Callahan's voice sounds harsher and strained.
53	* PhonyPsychic: The protagonist of "Seance" calls an old man over to help him contact his dead wife and, upon realising he's a fraud after nothing comes of it, calls him out as exploitative and tells him to get out.
54	* PhraseSaladLyrics: "Tar Baby" appears to be this at first;
55	-->Magpie, porkpie, don't eat that
56	-->Buzzard's gizzard, don't eat that
57	-->Frog in your stomach the size of a fist
58	-->Don't look away in case you miss
59	-->Bright blue fishes in the sea
60	-->Swimming backwards for you and me
61	-->Licorice eels light up the night
62	-->Glowing and glowing and glowing bright
63	* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: "City Poison";
64	-->You walk like a thief into my life
65	-->You do not respect my bed just for the night
66	-->You slag off everything that I hold dear
67	-->And you bring your city poison 'round here
68	-->...
69	-->You use what is given without debt
70	-->You spend the commitment like a check
71	-->You fuck to find your peace of mind, you can't see the mess you leave behind
72	-->Your progress is empty but sincere
73	-->And you bring your city poison 'round here
74	** "Wanderlust" eventually becomes one of these to mankind as a whole, with the "Johnny Vagrant" it initially mentions being a metaphor for all of society's ills.
75	* {{Reggae}}: Moonshake were heavily influenced by dub-reggae, like many other post-rock bands from the time.
76	* RevolvingDoorBand: Callahan is the only band member who stayed throughout the group's entire run, with other members leaving and joining between albums.
77	* SourOutsideSadInside: The protagonist of "Two Trains";
78	-->I'm whining, nagging and nervous
79	-->I'm compulsive, frivolous
80	-->Overweight and hairy
81	-->Don't you just wanna meet me
82	-->...
83	-->I'm [?], I never come-a crashing
84	-->Breathing in and out, in and out, in and out
85	-->Riverboat low, that's when I'm on board
86	-->Whatever I get, I still want some more
87	* ShoutOut: "Wanderlust" begins on the line "Here comes Johnny vagrant", which references and is even sung to the rhythm to the opening line of "Lust For Life" by Music/IggyPop ("here comes Johnny Yen again").
88	* SpokenWordInMusic: "The Grind" features narration by Molly Burnham, describing the 'daily grind' and the desire to escape it.
89	* TripHop: Delved into this frequently; "Secondhand Clothes", "Blister", "Wanderlust", "Bleach & Salt Water", "Little Thing", "Girly Loop", "Seance", "Your Last Friend in This Town", "Ghosts of Good Intention", "Cranes", "Gambler's Blues", "The Taboo"...
90	* UncommonTime:
91	** "Bleach & Salt Water" and "The Sound Your Eyes Can Follow" are in 6/4
92	** "Little Thing" and "Your Last Friend In This Town" are in 7/4. "Joker John" and "Just A Working Girl" have sections in 7/8.
93	** "Flow" has 4/4 verses, with a chorus that starts in 5/4 before shifting into 7/4.
94	* UrbanHellscape: Where most of their songs take place; many songs discusss issues like society's ills ("Wanderlust", "City Poison"), the less-than-stable ("Tar Baby", "Two Trains", "Seance"), abusive and neglectful parents ("Helping Hands"), alienation and isolation ("Capital Letters", "Spaceship Earth"), and other similar subjects, all taking place in urban settings.
95	* VocalTagTeam: On the releases under their initial lineup, Callahan and Fielder trade vocals every few songs.
96	* VoiceOfTheLegion: A subtle-but-effective one is used in the latter half of "Helping Hands".
97	* WanderlustSong: "Capital Letters" plays with this; it follows a 'creep from the sticks' moving to a large city for a better life... and subsequently feeling alienated and disenchanted with how it's dominated by capitalism and materialism.

Context Music / Moonshake