Deastro - Moondagger

Taking the US press by storm, Randolph Chabot aka Deastro is a brand new epic space-shoegaze sensation. Causing a stir on Pitchfork (Paste, Spin), the stunning debut album is set for release this July via Ghostly International (School of Seven Bells).

When Deastro is asked about the title of his new album, he recounts a dream about a prince, a kingdom, an evil King of Darkness, and a search for the mythical Moondagger, the bearer of which wields ultimate power. Whilst Moondagger, Deastro's astonishing new album, contains traces of that dream — in all of its bittersweet, fantasy-novel glory — the record itself is infinitely more down-to-earth, containing the sort of unrelentingly earnest, inspirational pop music that could only come from a kid weaned on fiction but living desperately, joyously in the here-and-now.

Thick, atmospheric production obscures bright, starry-eyed melodies; ecstatic synth squiggles dance around new-wave beats on songs about Nordics, toxic crusaders, and geometric shapes; arrangement ideas bounce off one another within ambitious song structures.

He talks of his influences: 'I would say Steve Reich is way up there along with Claude Debussy. Beach Boys, Depeche Mode, Johnny Cash, Sufjan Stevens, Danielson, M83, Aphex twin. Recently I have been obsessed with Animal Collective, Women, High Places, Lucky Dragons, Matmos, Clark, Wilderness, and Dirty Projectors'…

Deastro's songs are breathtakingly down-to-earth, melodic slices of synth-led experimental pop whose energy builds with each iteration of the chorus, hitting emotional peak after emotional peak until they collapse in a heap. The album-opening "Biophelia" can barely contain its heart-in-throat urgency, Chabot's rapid-fire delivery slicing through layers of shoegaze-y ambience with; "Vermillion Plaza," plucky synth arpeggios ricochet off cavernous echo-chamber walls, Chabot pleads for human contact. Debut single Vermillion Plaza comes preceding this available from July 6th 2009, complete with a squelchy, lumbering remix by Mux Mool.

Deastro are:
Randolph Chabot - Vocals/Laptop
Live band: Jeff Supina - Drums, Mark Smak - Guitar, Brian Connelly - Bass/Keys