This slowly forming side project of
Fleet Foxes sidemen Christian Wargo and Casey Wescott (both also of slick indie outfit
Crystal Skulls) started brewing in 2008, about four years before this debut EP,
Illusion, finally saw release. Starting as a bedroom collaboration with some Bay Area friends and the occasional jokey entertainment at low-key house parties in Seattle, the band began growing at the same time as
Fleet Foxes' overarching worldwide popularity. Between tours and in downtime,
Poor Moon cobbled together their sound, and
Illusion is a slow-burning five-song EP preceding a full-length slated to appear shortly after. Shedding much of the
Spoon influence of
Crystal Skulls,
Poor Moon follow the same rustic backwoods folk path as
Fleet Foxes. Some touches set
Poor Moon apart from their parent band: the muted delay swells on the vocals of the title track, a swinging lead guitar on the sunshiny,
Beatlesque "People in Her Mind," and a dip back into the dark indie territory of
Crystal Skulls with "Once Before." ~ Fred Thomas