Even at first listen, it’s undeniable that Waxing Moon, Rebecca Foon – the composer and musician behind Saltland and Esmerine (and former long-standing member of Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra) – first eponymous album is an exploration of an incredibly emotional soundscape and intimacy.
Waxing Moon is an immersive experience, piano-based instrumentals and Foon’s cello and haunting voice are the light and strength in the album’s delicate vulnerability, elements that are rarely so well conveyed on a record. The album’s arrangements are uniformly beautiful, and some of Foon’s close collaborators and guests including Richard Reed Parry (Arcade Fire) and Mishka Stein (Patrick Watson), Sophie Trudeau (Godspeed You Black Emperor), Jace Lasek (The Besnard Lakes) and Patrick Watson as co-vocalist on the album’s standout track “Vessels” just helped to add consistency and to the album’s saccharine.
A stunning album, balanced between intimacy and elegance that demands your full attention and devotion.