In the week in which NASA announced the irrefutable presence of water on the Moon, The Moons showed their own signs of life as they released their fourth studio album Pocket Melodies. Sure, the news that there’s water on the Moon might have the greater implications for space travel, and the human race as a whole, but if psychedelic, sixties-inspired, space-pop indie is your thing, then don’t let the Moon hog The Moons’ limelight.

The Northampton outfit, ably captained by singer, songwriter and guitarist Andy Crofts, have been around in different guises since 2008 (the Moon, for the record, is far, far older), but Pocket Melodies is their first release since 2014’s Mindwaves. In an exciting move, the album was recorded live with a string quartet at Abbey Road, in the famous Studio 2 where the likes of Pink Floyd, The Beatles, and Oasis recorded some of their most legendary works.

It’s a whopping offering too, coming in at a very generous seventeen tracks. Today is a beautiful opener, packed with rich harmonies and instantly evoking a sense of the swinging sixties, while Riding Man is a stomping tribute to cyclist Sir Bradley Wiggins, who once revealed that The Moons’ Fables Of History was the album he listened to during the final week of the Tour de France the year he won it. Elsewhere Tunnel of Time, co-written with Paul Weller, is a gloriously Bowie-esque affair and features some suitably spacey lyrics “Hanging around in this spaceship / Trying to find a land to call my only way”).

Maybe I’m The Perfect Man (For You) is relentlessly cheery, while The Lone Wolf channels Sgt. Pepper’s era Beatles to wonderfully nostalgic effect. Rear Window is a lovely nod to the classic Alfred Hitchcock film (“Rear window where I see you all from / Different kinds of people living different kinds of lives, in many more ways than one”), while An Ordinary Romance is exactly that, a sweet and simple little love song that is utterly endearing (“Though it ain’t to rock ‘n’ roll to sit and watch TV / We roll ourselves another cigarette and kiss ourselves to sleep”).

And that’s Pocket Melodies in a nutshell really. A completely charming, warm hug of an album from arguably the best band to ever tread on NASA’s toes.

Pocket Melodies tracklist:

1. Today

2. Riding Man

3. The Old Brigade

4. Far Away

5. Tunnel Of Time

6. Where Are You Now?

7. Sleep

8. Maybe I’m The Perfect Man (For You)

9. The Lone Wolf

Author: Joe Sharratt

Joe Sharratt is a writer and journalist based in the UK covering music, literature, sport, and travel.