IT may be a common, almost cliched expression but there’s some validity and weight to the notion that absence makes the heart grow fonder. Normally enlisted in the context of personal connections, a beloved band’s valiant return after a notable absence or period of writing-incuded solitude can feel every bit as exciting as clapping eyes on an old friend if they managed to leave a particularly striking impression on you.

In the case of Edinburgh-based outfit Man Of Moon, the prospect of a duo that has exhibited all the signs of becoming revered the world over for their inventive and enthralling material emerging recharged certainly falls into that category, After decamping to record new material and hone their sound for the vast majority of 2017, their year was capped off in the same vein as it began with two massive shows in quick succession. For Chris Bainbridge and Mikey Reid, this reacquaintance with live performance served as a precursor for what’s shaping up to be an exciting period  for the band:

“Yes, absolutely these gigs have been a great way for us to gear up for this busy year ahead. We had a great time at both shows and the crowds were brilliant! Alt Peers Ball was an incredible lineup, we’ve always been into Django Django and we loved Pictich Trail and Monoganon too, stunning venue as well. Honeyblood are another band that we’ve admired for a while, so was nice to be asked and our first time playing ABC which was ace! Our fans can expect to see much much more of us this year and we are so excited to play for them.”

Although it may have been comparitively quiet to their formative years as a band, their decision to abstain from the adoration of the stage is not a product of them resting on their laurels and was born from immersing themselves in the writing process and placing the onus on crafting the most invigorating new material that they could:

“We love playing live shows in front of audiences and being able to gauge peoples reactions to new material and ideas, so it was a strange experience for us to play less shows than we have done in recent years. However we have loved working on new material with different producers in different studios. This time has allowed us to really find our sound and bring to light certain aspects we think are important for our debut album release. We are extremely excited to release new material, especially for people who have waited so patiently! We do get messages on social media fairly frequently about this, we’d love to put out music more quickly, but we’ve gotta get it right. The process has taken a while but we were always determined to put out something that we are both truly proud of.”

Given the indivisible weight of expectation that no doubt rests on their shoulders after the nigh-on universal praise that earlier forays such as ‘The Road’ single and 2016’s unabashedly creative Medicine EP received upon their arrival, it is no surprise that they steadfastly believe in dedicating their time to the recoring process rather than rushing music out to quench the audience’s desire for more. With that in mind, the band expanded upon their belief with the help of some wise words from a bastion of Scotland’s musical landscape.

“Yes, absolutely, we now have a solid block of strong songs that we feel are all album worthy. We both think debut albums are so important, and have been so eager since we started the band to get it right the first time.I listened to Stuart Braithwaite (MOGWAI) being interviewed recently and he was saying that it’s annoying sometimes that you record an album, tour it and then realise that the live version of the songs have developed further and you wish you could do the album again. That is so true and has resonated with both of us, so we’ll be developing the songs further before we do the final versions.

Ever since we released ‘The Road’ there was a sense of expectation to write more songs in that style. This side of Man of Moon is definitely present in the album, but we have also allowed our darker, ambient elements to coincide with each other, something we also thought was so important from the start. Now that we have all songs written for the first album we are beginning to write for the second, we’ve got around 15 tracks that we’re really happy with and hopefully won’t be too long before we can share them with you. For now you’ll need to come see us at Broadcast or Sneaky Pete’s to get a first listen. We are extremely excited for the next few years!”

In the wake of their abgenation towards live shows, Chris and Mikey are set to make up for lost time with a pair of intimate headline gigs at Glasgow’s Broadcast and Edinburgh’s Sneaky Pete’s respectively. With anticipation naturally high upon their announcement, it is abundantly clear that the boys intend to return to top billing with authority and their openness about what to expect would suggest that these shows are shaping up to be spectacles in themselves:

“We are both buzzing to play these shows.We love playing in front of Edinburgh and Glasgow crowds, especially in small venues like Broadcast and Sneaky’s where the crowd are right up close to the stage.Edinburgh is our hometown but Glasgow is our home from home and we have played some of our most memorable gigs there. We want to give the crowd a glimpse of the music we are going to release this year and show them what we have been working on in 2017. Our plan is to play half old, half new and end with a bang. We now have incorporated a full live visual show to go along with the music designed and controlled by our two very talented mates Cammy and Sean.This has made the performance a much more cinematic experience.  We both get such a buzz off playing new songs to folk so we really are very excited for these two gigs. ”

No strangers to performing in foreign lands in spite of their relative infancy as a band, the duo exclusively revealed to us that they’ll be voyaging across the continent with a certain illustrious art-rock outfit that originated from the fertile grounds of their own hometown:

“YES! We are so excited to announce that we will be going on tour for a month around the UK and Europe with the mighty Django Django from the end of February. We have always been such huge fans of this band and can’t wait to hit the road with them. We have been itching to get out into Europe since we started and play cities such as Amsterdam,Paris,Berlin and Munich. Two of our favourite bands [Can and NEU] both came from Germany so playing there has always been a dream for us. This has given us an opportunity to make a strong first footprint in these major cities around Europe. 2018 is going to be a much busier year for us, we will be playing more shows in Feb/March than we did in the entire of 2017. We are also looking forward to hearing new records from Django Django, The Twilight Sad (hopefully) and this awesome new band from Cardiff, Boy Azooga. Go listen to their new single ‘Face Behind Her Cigarette’!”

With a a vast array of irons in the fire for 2018, early indications would suggest that this year could see Man Of Moon ascend from ‘rising stars’ or a ‘hotly tipped act’ and into the pantheon of the nation’s overground exports. Although it may be in the realms of the hypothetical at the moment, what would the band like to be able to say they’ve acheived when 2019 makes itself known?

“With everything going to plan we would like to have released our debut album, be playing many more shows across the UK, Europe and beyond. We’ve always loved playing at festivals also, with any luck we’ll get a few new ones on the list this year.”

Check out Man Of Moon’s full list of tour ates below:

08/02/18 GLASGOW BROADCAST, HEADLINE
26/02/18 DUNDEE FAT SAMS W/ DJANGO DJANGO
27/02/18 ABERDEEN THE GARAGE W/ DJANGO DJANGO
28/02/18 EDINBURGH SNEAKY PETE’S HEADLINE
01/03/18 GLASGOW SWG3 W/ DJANGO DJANGO

03/03/18 LEEDS THE CHURCH W/ DJANGO DJANGO
04/03/18 BIRMINGHAM THE SUNFLOWER LOUNGE HEADLINE
05/03/18 BRUSSLES ANCIENNE BELGIQUE W/ DJANGO DJANGO
06/03/18 NIJMEGEN DOORNROOSJE W/ DJANGO DJANGO
07/03/18 AMSTERDAM MELKWEG W/ DJANGO DJANGO

09/03/18 ZURICH SWITZERLAND W/ DJANGO DJANGO
10/03/18 PARIS LA CIGALE W/ DJANGO DJANGO

12/03/18 STRASBOURG LA LAITERIE W/ DJANGO DJANGO
13/03/18 MUNICH STROM W/ DJANGO DJANGO

15/03/18 COPENHAGEN VEGA W/ DJANGO DJANGO
16/03/18 HAMBURG GRUENSPAN W/ DJANGO DJANGO
17/03/18 BERLIN FESTSAAL KREUZBERG W/ DJANGO DJANGO
19/03/18 LILLE AERONEF W/ DJANGO DJANGO
20/03/18 NOTTINGHAM RESCUE ROOMS W/ DJANGO DJANGO
21/03/18 MANCHESTER O2 RITZ W/ DJANGO DJANGO
22/03/18 NEWCASTLE THINK TANK? HEADLINE
23/03/18 LONDON PRINTWORKS W/ DJANGO DJANGO
24/03/18 BRISTOL SWX BRISTOL W/ DJANGO DJANGO