Defiance (Remastered)

Album review

Across their two-decade career, Dead Moon followed a consistent path, one that drew heavily from Fred Cole's roots in '60s garage and updated through the punk music that it shaped. Self-recorded at their home, Dead Moon's albums followed an aesthetic that would come to be called lo-fi, complete with mono mixes and a bit of background hum.

It's unsurprising that the group started with a mature style in place, as Fred and Toody Cole's band The Rats—which followed a similar path—broke up in 1983, five years before Dead Moon's 1988 debut, In the Graveyard. While that record launched the trio's vision in full force, subsequent albums added iconic songs that became key features of their beloved live performances, and also subtle explorations of new ideas that fostered growth and innovation.

The best-known songs on Dead Moon's third album, 1990's Defiance, are two of their slower "hits," and both feature overt dynamic shifts. "Dagger Moon" builds slowly through the first half of the song, with two full repetitions of the main part leading to an emphatic shout when the song reaches full volume. Fred's guitar solo captures the emotional depths of his playing, even at the song's modest tempo. "Johnny's Got a Gun" includes an opening narrative from Toody, and a stark contrast between measured verses and explosive choruses. Live, it took on an extra level of literal explosion, with beer flying off of the floor tom with each of drummer Andrew Loomis's stick hits. Defiance also captured the trio exploring new ideas, from hints of '60s psychedelic influences on "Crystal is Falling" to the vulnerable vocal take, accompanied only by guitar, on "Unknown Passage."

Compared to both the original LP and other reissues, this new remaster, by Timothy Stollenwerk at Stereophonic, improves the sonics of Defiance while preserving its lo-fi charm. Still present is Dead Moon's recognizable background hum, which they wisely kept even as current digital tools would have facilitated its removal. Fred's guitar retains its explosiveness while losing a bit of its brittle edge, and Toody's bass gains heft in its lowest frequencies. The cymbals replace exaggerated sizzle with more body. The vocals, especially Fred's, gain a bit of fullness. The magic of Dead Moon sounds both immediately familiar and subtly better, emphasizing both the dark and anthemic moments of Defiance. © Steve Silverstein/Qobuz