With his previous standalone release, the hauntingly beautiful “killmeinmysleep,” not long in the rearview mirror, South London’s Eli Moon swiftly returns with his sophomore EP, Angels, Devils & Empty Vessels. On which, he reaffirms that not only is he one of the most compelling new voices in the alternative R&B space, but also that he continues to defy any expectations, a quality that is irrevocably proven by this short, yet diverse and calculated effort.
The darkly contemplative atmosphere of “killmeinmysleep” carries across into the introduction to this project, which embarks with “Stasis.” This time around, just as it’s about to fully consume you once again, a driving rhythm sweeps in, expanding the track into a rapturous and atypical R&B soundscape which adds further gravitas to his despondent lyricism. Switching genres without forfeiting an ounce of his distinct personality, “Phases” follows, which pulls from neon-tinged electro-pop to deliver a dichotomous, exasperated personal narrative, of which he outlines in an email statement, “Life felt like a never-ending cycle of the same activities, same people and I just needed to escape. In the song, I deal with the existential crisis that I often find myself in, where I begin to question everyone and everything around me.”
The project continues with “Bigger Than Us,” a downtempo homogeny of the aural themes found on the two previous tracks and signifies the change in lyrical tone from hopeless, to hopeful. Concluding this spectacular EP is the understated and self-aware anthem “Pray,” which continues the conversation of a higher power started in the previous track. Speaking to the track he continues, “‘Pray’ is an expression of my perspective on society. It is me looking at human behaviour under a microscope. Having become so disgusted with myself, I wanted to work out how I had got to that point. In doing so, I was able to see how we live in a world designed for us to think that we have control so that those in power can maintain their own control over us.”
Moon concludes with talking about the stellar project as a whole, “My previous work to date has been often a very introspective analysis of my own self, and of course, there is a lot of that in this EP. However, this EP is more than just about me; it’s about human behaviour, human connection and about pushing boundaries. Each song is completely different, yet individually they combine to make something singular and if we all learned to accept each other’s individuality, the end result (society) would be a much stronger and harmonious place.”
Angels, Devils & Empty Vessels is out now via Meridian.
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