The Soft Moon announces new album ‘Exister’

The Soft Moon
The Soft Moon by Matteo Nazzari

Today, The Soft Moon (aka multi instrumentalist Luis Vasquez) has announced plans to release ‘Exister,’ the powerful, vulnerably therapeutic new full-length album, due out September 23rd, 2022 via Sacred Bones Records. With the announcement comes the jolting lead single Him which features a collaboration with fish narc, who also appears with Vasquez in the accompanying turbulent video directed by Wiggy & Nick Blanco.

Luis Vasquez shares: “I struggle with ‘good side/bad side’ endlessly. ‘Him’ recounts that battle, expressing the turmoil it brings into my life.” 

Regarding the video, Vasquez goes on to say: “I am persistently running away from something devilish on my shoulders tempting me into mischievous behavior portrayed by fish narc.” Watch the video for Him (Feat. fish narc) directed by Wiggy & Nick Blanco via YouTube below.

The Soft Moon has also confirmed extensive 2022 Tour Dates in North America and overseas, which begin in late September and continue through December. See all dates below.

Tour dates

Sep 26 Hamburg, DE – U&G

Sep 27 Berlin, DE – So36

Sep 28 Leipzig, DE – UT Connewitz

Sep 29 Cologne, DE – Gebaude9

Sep 30 Poznan, PL – Próżność

Oct 01 Warsaw, PL – Praga Centrum

Oct 02 Krakow, PL – Klub Hol

Oct 03 Prague, CZ – Futurum

Oct 04 Munich, DE – Hansa 39

Oct 05 Pordenone, IT – Capitol

Oct 06 Rome, IT – Monk

Oct 07 Milan, IT – Santeria

Oct 08 Bologna, IT – Covo

Oct 10 Toulouse, FR – Le Connexion

Oct 11 Vigo, ES – Master Club

Oct 12 Lisbon, PT – LAV room 2

Oct 13 Madrid, ES – La Casa Encendida

Oct 14 Zaragoza, ES – Jardín de Invierno

Oct 15 Barcelona, ES – Nitsa Club (La (2) de Apolo)

Oct 17 Lyon, FR – Epicerie Moderne

Oct 18 Zurich, CH – Mascotte Club

Oct 19 Gent, BE – Handelsbeurs

Oct 20 Lille, FR – Le Grand Mix

Oct 21 Luxembourg, LU – Kulturfabrik

Oct 22 Brussels, BE – Beursschouwburg

Oct 24 Amsterdam, NL  – Paradiso Noord

Oct 25 Nijmegen, NL – Doornroosje

Oct 26 Groningen, NL – VERA

Oct 27 London, UK – The Garage

Oct 28 Amiens, FR – La Lune des Pirates

Oct 29 Paris, FR – Trabendo

Nov 09 Philadelphia, PA – Underground Arts

Nov 10 Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg

Nov 11 Washington, DC – The Howard Theatre

Nov 12 Richmond, VA – The Broadberry

Nov 13 Asheville, NC – The Grey Eagle

Nov 14 Atlanta, GA – Masquerade (Hell Stage)

Nov 16 New Orleans, LA – One Eyed Jack’s

Nov 17 Houston, TX – Numbers

Nov 18 Dallas, TX – Deep Ellum Art Co

Nov 19 Austin, TX – Mohawk

Nov 21 Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom

Nov 25 Los Angeles, CA – The Regent Theater

Nov 26 San Francisco, CA – The Independent

Nov 29 Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom

Nov 30 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre

Dec 01 Seattle, WA – Neumos

Dec 02 Boise, ID – The Olympic

Dec 03 Salt Lake City, UT – Urban Lounge

Dec 04 Denver, CO – The Oriental Theatre

Dec 06 Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line

Dec 07 Chicago, IL – Metro

Dec 08 Detroit, MI – El Club

Dec 09 Toronto, ON – The Opera House

Dec 10 Montreal, QC – S.A.T.

Dec 11 Boston, MA – The Sinclair

Pre-Order/Save ‘Exister’ out September 23, 2022 via Sacred Bones Records here

The whole point of this record was to share every emotion that I feel,” says The Soft Moon’s Luis Vasquez. “No two songs are the same. It’s about existing in the world as a human being and experiencing many emotions and experiences throughout life.”

And so hence the title ‘Exister,’ a record rooted in the ecstatic joys and crippling lows that life can throw up and how just hanging on and existing is sometimes all we have. “Exister is my way of saying ‘I’m here, deal with it.’” Vasquez says.

The reason the album exists as such a personal one for Vasquez is because his life underwent a lot of changes throughout its creation. He left Berlin, his home of many years, and moved to the Joshua Tree to find some space musically, and personally, during lockdown. “I had a ton more freedom than I’ve ever had,” he says. For one, he could actually play drums, which he’s never been able to do before due to space constraints. Even his first album, which was typified by his whispering vocal style, was because of his neighbor situation. In the Joshua Tree, he could unleash himself and let rip and the clearest, and most symbolic result of that, is the prominent, powerful vocals of Vasquez that truly capture someone gaining confidence in their own voice. “I always complained that I never had enough freedom to do everything I wanted,” he says. “This time I literally had everything at my disposal.”

Sonically, this expression is a vast, expansive and potent one. The opening Sad Song, which unfurls with a dense brooding atmosphere, Vasquez describes as almost a ballad, while tracks such as The Pit capture the opposite end of the musical spectrum, exploding as a thundering piece of industrial techno complete with gut-churning levels of bass.

Monster – a song that follows a human metamorphosis into an unrecognizable and destructive being – seamlessly combines a deeply melodic, almost electro pop, vocal hook with slowly building atmospherics to create something equally beautiful and unsettling. Become the Lies explores the devastating consequences of being lied to by your own family and is a post-punk stomper, merging charging basslines, pummelling drums, and snaking guitars, all of which combine explosively. Elsewhere the album runs the gauntlet of everything from ambient to dark wave – featuring ferocious guest contributions from fish narc and Special Interest’s Alli Logout on Him and Unforgiven – all while retaining that distinct tone that unmistakably The Soft Moon. 

It felt like something of a musical reset for Vasquez, who had come out of making his last album, ‘Criminal,’ with some frustrations about the process and end result. “This is the first record where I felt completely detached from my career because of COVID and not touring,” he says. “It felt like all those years before were just a dream. I was trying to write music as if I was starting completely over.” This is also reflected in a new lyrical approach that embraced stream of consciousness delivery, allowing Vasquez to tap into the more pure and raw parts of his inner self.

Another part of this starting again was hoping to make amends with some difficult family situations that had existed from childhood, but the opposite ended up happening and it changed the direction and shape of the record, as he went through a “roller coaster of conflicts” with his mother, which was further exacerbated when his uncle came out of prison after 40 years. “I thought I was done with the album when I found out about family secrets that were so disturbing, I reached breaking point,” he says. “I was overwhelmed and angry. All that pain had to go somewhere and it went into the songs.”

A photo of Vasquez as a child is the album cover and it’s representative of a record that involved reconnecting with his younger self, with a mother-son relationship at the center of the album. “It’s my child self that you hear all over it,” he says. “I was reminiscing and hurting a lot during the writing process. This is possibly my most vulnerable record yet.”

However, despite the pain, anger, vulnerability, and hurt that can be found at the core of this record, there’s also a profound sense of hope and beauty. This transition from a place of discomfort to one of relief is key for Vasquez when making a record and going through a process of healing. It’s been a cathartic process for an artist who can find the creative process quite torturous and fear-inducing. “My main goal is always to express something on the very deepest level possible,” he says. “But to channel that I have to go deep into myself to bring that out. It can be dark.”

However, a key point of reaching deep within himself during the creative process is so the end musical result can act as a bridge. “It’s for other people too,” he says. “I want them to feel things – to not feel alone and to connect. It just makes me feel lighter and a little happier with my life getting shit off my chest.”

On the closing Exister, the album seems to reach a place of peace and solace, ending on a quiet, reflective and poignant moment that captures a sense of optimism after a period of upheaval. “I love that feeling of going through turmoil and then knowing that there’s that light at the end of the tunnel,” says Vasquez. “It’s kind of heroic. It’s like climbing to the top of a mountain.”

The Soft Moon Exister cover artwork

Exister ‘ track listing

Sad Song

Answers

Become The Lies

Face Is Gone

Monster 

The Pit

NADA

Stupid Child

Him (Feat. fish narc)

Unforgiven (Feat. Alli Logout)

Exister

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