The thirteen-track album kicks off with the pulsing The Web, a smooth, melodic piece of prog that is quite typical of the album's overall sound. Jennings' staccato keyboard melody and some distant spoken word extracts opens the song, before a trance-like percussion loop and vocal drones take over. It is a fairly modern-sounding opening, but when Cromarty's drums kick in and Atkinson starts the verse the track settles back into a familiar style. Much of this albums sounds like Riversea's two albums, with Jennings' keyboards dominating musically while Clements' subtle bass grooves contribute to the song's surprising depth. Guitars are fairly sparsely used throughout the track, as they mostly only add to the rhythm, which lets the band's three main players showcase their talents early. A melodic chorus holds the whole song together, with some poppy vocal melodies that are enhanced by Helder's delicate harmonies. The only part of the song that sees Ledger dominate is during the album's first guitar solo, a fairly controlled but melodic moment that introduces him to overall sound. On the whole this is an album dominated by Jennings' keyboards and soundscapes, but Ledger makes his presence felt throughout with some choice additions. In fact, he is more prominently employed throughout Seize the Day, a funkier piece that showcases some fuzzy blues playing from him throughout - while Jennings' electronics constantly fill the gaps. Jennings showcases his skills as a musician and a songwriter throughout this album. There are lots of keyboard styles used throughout, with pulsing grooves making up the majority of this track - although the choruses sees the use of melodic piano lines to change the mood. This is not a particularly hard rocking album, but there are a few riffier and more upbeat tracks - and this is one of them. Jennings seems to have always been interested in funky grooves and programmed synths, something which his solo work has showcased over the years, and he has brought that interest with him into Moon Halo. The short instrumental title track is essentially just a showcase for his playing, with layers of keyboards coming together to form a great, atmospheric piece of music. It shows the band's gentler side, and acts as something of an elongated intro to The Veil, one of the album's highlights. Atkinson and Helder team up for the wordless vocal intro, while Jennings' mournful piano sets the scene. In fact, the song in general is piano-based, and gets largely away from the pulsing synths and programming of some of the album's other pieces. This is a very Riversea-sounding piece, with Atkinson's emotional voice really carrying the track, while he adds extra depth with his acoustic guitar. The emotional pull of the song is further enhanced throughout by Ledger's guitar playing, and fairly early on he lays down a great bluesy solo that cuts through the mix and showcases his talents nicely. There are also shades of some of the songs that Jennings has written for Mostly Autumn over the years, so fans of that band will certainly find plenty to enjoy here - with Ledger's solos sounding somewhat similar to Bryan Josh's style. For me, it is the soaring, emotional nature of the song that makes it stand out - and that is why it is one of my favourite cuts here.
Parachute has something of an overall more rocky sound with a strange floaty, Eastern-tinged opening before Ledger comes in with a scratchy guitar riff that proceeds to dominate the track. There is something of an old-school hard rock feel that is showcased throughout the piece, and it is really the only song on the album that goes for an all-out rock feel. Ledger's guitars really dominate here, but Jennings' still gets plenty of chances to show off with some retro-sounding rock organ pulses while Cromarty's drums crash around beneath everyone. The chorus is a pretty catchy one, but unfortunately Atkinson's voice is a little buried in the mix so the melodies do not hit as hard as they should. If his voice was more prominent, the chorus would be a really powerful and particularly anthemic moment in the context of the album - but unfortunately the mix hampers this somewhat. The track is still a strong one however, and it is great to see everyone letting their hair down a little. Somebody Save Us gets back to the more atmospheric synth-based sound that dominates the album, with a pulsing programmed beat driving the early portions of the song while mournful piano and acoustic guitar back Atkinson's muttered vocals. It is a track that opens up as it moves along, with Cromarty adding real drums as the chorus arrives and Atkinson opens up vocally adding more power. It is a track that is very typical of the album's overall sound, with Jennings' really driving everything musically and Atkinson bringing the emotional touch with his lyrics and warm delivery. What's Your Name is another groove-based piece, with Ledger's strange guitar pattern opening the track up while a pseudo-industrial drum machine groove backs him up. This is one of the album's pacier tracks, and one that really showcases the skills of Clements. He is a very inventive bassist, who is all over this album, but his playing seems particularly prominent and important here. His grooves are what the track comes to be built on, and fit in perfectly with the strange electronics and guitar pattern. Jennings' keyboards take more of a backseat here, allowing the funky grooves to dominate and Atkinson's voice to provide the main melodic counterpoint. It leads to a different sound, but it works well and showcases another side to the band. Seventh Heaven gets back to the atmospheric roots of the album, with a proggy piano-led intro that soon gives way to a mournful bass groove and acoustic guitar backing. Ledger adds some David Gilmour-esque lead guitar swells and melodies throughout to add colour, but the main focus here is on Atkinson and his soulful delivery. Helder adds some occasional harmonies, but this is a track really written to showcase Atkinson's voice, while Jennings just makes everything sound bigger with his soundscapes. It is a real team effort, with everyone pulling together to make another of the album's highlights. Let Me Out is another somewhat funky piece, although it is not as upbeat or as in your face as some of the previous efforts here. There is something of the more restrained end of Toto here, with a very prominent bassline and a drum groove that recalls the late Jeff Porcaro. The soulful backing vocals courtesy of Janine Atkinson help to enhance that mood further, and provide a strong contrast to Atkinson's lead vocals - which are fairly mournful in comparison to the more upbeat backing vocals. It is a track that really has a bit of everything, and the instrumental portion that comes towards the end really showcases everyone playing to their strengths, with the bass dominating before a great old-school synth solo takes over.
Awoken is the only track on the album to feature Mikey Gibson on guitar in place of Ledger, who's simple rhythms open the track up nicely while Cromarty adds a simple beat and Atkinson sings some subtly-melodic vocal lines. It is probably one of the album's simplest pieces, with more of a focus on placing the vocal melodies at the front and centre of the song rather that creating big progressive soundscapes and arrangements. Helder is featured quite prominently vocally throughout too, harmonising well with Atkinson at times and even dominating vocally during some portions. We have not heard nearly enough from Helder lately, with Panic Room seemingly in limbo, so it is great to hear her voice again here. The track has something of a carefree feeling to it, something which is rarely found throughout the album. It is nice change of pace that adds some lightness and whimsical feelings - breaking up the dense soundscapes found elsewhere. Across the Great Divide immediately returns to the depth however, with a distant-sounding synth riff heralding the song's arrival before Atkinson starts singing over a sparse verse with cold synths and a programmed drum pattern. It is another song that builds up somewhat as it moves along, and it is also another piece that really relies on Clements' playing. His bass playing really seems to hold everything together, and is the rock that the song is built on. Elsewhere, piano melodies add colour to certain parts of the track and end up dominating as the song slowly fades out. The drums and grooves drop out, and leave Jennings' soundscape and Atkinson's voice alone as the track moves towards a low-key and reflective ending. Rise Up starts slowly, with synths and mournful vocals, but it soon morphs into another pacier groove-based piece with some some funky guitar rhythms and another pulsing bassline. It is a great track that showcases this side of the band probably the strongest, while still incorporating some of the soundscapes and denser feel of the slower songs. It is a song that sees all sides of Moon Halo come together nicely, and it all meshes together naturally - something that is never guaranteed when it comes to bands with multiple faces. There are moments when the grooves drop out somewhat and allow the synths to take over, but then everything will ramp up up again with some soulful vocal harmonies and a punchy drum pattern. A catchy synth solo is also included towards the end to contribute to the overall feel-good factor of the piece. The album comes to a close with Don't Let It End Like This, a dense, atmospheric track that is very typical of the overall album. Much like The Web opened the album in this fashion, Don't Let It End Like This closes the album out in a similar way. As much as I like the funkier pieces, it is songs like this that really showcase the players of Moon Halo at their best in my opinion. Atkinson also shines the most against the more atmospheric backings in my opinion, and he is helped out here by Sparnenn-Josh who's distinct voice adds a lot to the track. She essentially sings harmony vocals throughout some portions of the song, but she is very high in the mix so the song almost feels like a duet at times - especially as she adds some great wordless vocal melodies throughout an otherwise instrumental portion of the piece. It is fitting however that the final portions of the album are based around a Jennings' synth solo and a Ledger guitar solo however. The track is already full of emotion thanks to the vocal performances, but the two instrumentalists really add to this as the album closes. Overall, Chroma is a great debut album from Moon Halo that showcases the best of everyone involved and is filled with memorable songs. Whether Moon Halo will be a one-off project or whether we will hear more from the band is unknown at this stage, but either way this is an album that modern progressive rock fans will love.
The album was released on 13th January 2020 via Moonhalomusic. Below is the band's promotional video for album, featuring snippets of many of the album's songs.
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