Milou Moon is the project of Emily McGill, a French American originally from Chicago who has lived partly in Melbourne, Australia, since 2016. By moving among her homes, she can stay in perpetual summer, though she made an exception when she played her official local debut at Gman Tavern this past December. McGill has released two haunting, seductive EPs with lyrics in English and French, layers of guitars and drums that converge in slow-rising waves of melody and texture, and a dreamily romantic sound that recalls the lush psychedelic pop of the 60s. Her latest, July’s Reverie, consists of four songs that navigate bilingualism, bihemispherism, and the sense of liminality that comes from moving between two different continents. Its first single, “Circles,” has a languid pulse and inviting atmosphere that doesn’t feel pinned to any specific place or era; it’s so engrossing that when it’s over you feel like you’ve been listening for much longer than five and a half minutes. “Suberosa” and “Mon Ami Interne” sell their French pop moods seamlessly to an Anglophone audience, and “Acid Based Accounting” lifts McGill’s voice over tripped-out, phase-shifted guitars to convey a slightly frightening dream state—it sounds like having a sleep-paralysis demon whose presence is almost comforting. As McGill explained on Instagram, “I wrote ‘Acid Based Accounting’ about how weird it feels when you totally lose touch with your creativity, even for a little while. It kind of feels like you’re fumbling around in a dark and confusing place.” We’ve all been there, but disorientation rarely sounds this alluring.
McGill is currently working on her first full-length as Milou Moon, collaborating with percussionist Leigh Fisher (a studio and touring musician for Dope Lemon) and keyboardist Simon Mavin (from Hiatus Kaiyote), and I expect it will be a complete gem. Opener Lane Beckstrom, who accompanied McGill at her Gman show, will present new material from his still-in-progress second solo album.
Milou Moon Lane Beckstrom opens. Sat 8/23, 8:30 PM, Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $21.25, 21+
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