“Antarctic Twilight III” by Trance to the Moon

I’ve written about Trance to the Sun’s music in the past, but earlier this year, guitarist Ashkelon Sain announced a new project: Trance to the Moon, a collaboration with vocalist Monet Alarie. As you might guess from the name, there’s a lot of sonic overlap between the two groups, i.e., swirly, ethereal guitars paired with equally ethereal vocals in the best dreampop/darkwave tradition.

“Antarctic Twilight III” is a prime example of Trance to the Moon’s sonic alchemy. Darkly elegant and foreboding, due in the large part to Sain’s ominous guitar tones, it’s the perfect song to listen to on headphones whilst wandering about the local cemetery under an autumn full moon. That’s particularly true during the bridge, where Alarie’s soaring voice traffics in the same exotic glossolalia as Lisa Gerrard, and along with Sain’s atmospherics, evokes a blend of early Dead Can Dance and Pornography-era Cure.

Trance to the Moon currently has two EPs to their name, both of which were released this summer: Except in Dreams and Fire Within Glass. Both EPs are available as digital downloads from Bandcamp or as a single CD titled Lavender Skies.