Montreal indie rockers Half Moon Run play Brighton

Spokesman Simon Blackmore said: “Well-known for their captivating live shows, this late-2023 tour takes Half Moon Run across North America and to the UK and Europe. The band are partnering in the UK and Europe with the Syrian American Medical Society. A portion of each ticket price will go to the US-based charity that has been actively providing medical care in Syria since 1998. SAMS supports 110 medical facilities and over 3,000 medical personnel.

“Renowned for their explosive rhythmic interplay and surging dynamic range, the band have previewed the new album by releasing four singles from the album in recent weeks – 9beat, Alco, You Can Let Go and Everyone's Moving Out East.

"Half Moon Run’s collaborative power has remained constant during their 12 years together. Beauty and sadness; harmony and menace; despair and groove - the blending of contrasting moods is a trademark of the band’s writing, and on this new record they’ve managed to push their own limits of musical chemistry.

"Salt sees them revisiting the site of their bond’s first forging, bringing new light to musical visions they’ve carried with them since the beginning. Equally, the album reaches into the future, featuring songs penned during the pandemic which explore the all-permeating anxieties of the current moment. Digging deeper, there’s evidence of a spiritual quest of sorts at the roots of Salt.

“Half Moon Run’s ability to breathe new life into ideas that’ve been with them since the start has been bolstered by the vision of producer Connor Seidel, with whom the band previously collaborated on the song Fatal Line on Seidel’s concept album 1969.

"Salt was largely created at Seidel’s Treehouse Studio—an idyllic escape north of Montreal where the band’s sketches had space to grow and take form. Seidel encouraged the band to dive deep into their rich archives.

"The album’s release has been preceded by the single You Can Let Go which vocalist Devon Portielje calls ‘a tumultuous, transformative journey through the dark places of the mind towards, hopefully, the light as well as by the single Alco. a song making expert use of silence and space in its drop-out chorus, showcasing the band at the height of their mastery of refined song-structures. ‘A song I wish Bruce Springsteen wrote’ is how Portielje describes the bittersweet folk ballad Heartbeat which calls to mind Nebraska’s palpable yearning and unflinching examinations of loneliness. Meanwhile Gigafire engages with climate anxiety and environmental destruction, responding to the California wildfires and the tragic need for a new term to describe wildfires that stretch over a million acres.”

Tickets from the venue.