Moon Duo, the Portland based-band of guitarist Ripley Johnson and keyboardist Sanae Yamada, sounds like the kind of psych rock you’d want cranked up so loud your hair starts to singe. Their new album, Occult Architecture Vol. 1, contains some of the darkest, moodiest songs I’ve heard in a long while, and trust me when I say that’s a good thing. 

Occult Architecture Vol. 1 represents the first chapter of Moon Duo’s new, ambitious musical direction as a band, set to drop February 3rd as a metaphor to the dark cloak of winter’s weight. “There’s something really powerful about the changing of the seasons in the Northwest, the physical and psychic impact it has on you,” says Johnson. And for those of you living on the sunny side of things in beautiful California, this may seem like an ungraspable concept. Until you press play. So listen up. –Maya Eslami