Zohaib Last month, Moontype announced their sophomore LP I Let The Wind Push Down On Me, the long-awaited follow up to their acclaimed 2021 debut Bodies of Water. A brand new Chicago band on a small independent label (Born Yesterday), the band’s debut made an outsized impact, capturing the attention of outlets like The New York Times, NPR, Stereogum and Pitchfork on the strength of the clear-eyed songwriting of the band’s singer/bassist Margaret McCarthy, and the band’s gauzy, math-y and full-hearted indie rock.
For their latest LP the band have transformed their line up, with the additions of Patter’s Joe Suihkonen and Andrew Clinkman of Spirits Having Fun, joining McCarthy and longtime drummer Emerson Hunton. Produced by Katie Von Schleicher and Nate Mendelsohn, Moontype’s second album, serves as a reinvention for the band—not just for their new and expanded lineup—but for how McCarthy navigates the changes in her own life and the messy feelings she sings about. It’s a patient document of feeling things out, being easy on yourself, and finding the beauty in small moments.
So far, the band have shared two singles from the new album, “Long Country” and “Four Hands ii,” and today the band are sharing a third single, a track called “How I Used To Dance” that arrives to coincide with the band’s recently announced tour with Frankie Cosmos and fantasy of a broken heart.
“All of these songs span from my twenties,” says McCarthy. “There are changes that happen during every time of life, but definitely that one was full of upheaval.” Opener “How I Used to Dance” finds her reflecting on a younger version of herself. Over a flutter of strings, she sings, “Oh, how I used to dance / in my room, before I went to bed” reminiscing on nighttime walks in a small town and late nights with her best friend.
McCarthy says of the track:
“This song is an ode to a particular time in life, living in Ohio with nowhere to put my angst. It felt really liminal living in that small town. I tried to find meaning in it then and appreciate the moments of beauty and pure emotion. The rhythm of the streetlights that turned to blinking red at night. Smashing glass with my friend. Once those were experiences I was having, now they are memories I hold.
Joe starting playing the octave pattern on guitar with me and it felt right just like that, and we built the song around that. This song really came together with the help of Nate and Katie in Maryland. That octave pattern sound has guitar, plucked piano, and pitched wine glasses tucked away!”
Full details of Moontype’s upcoming tour dates can be found below.
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