Moonpools are, without a shred of doubt, one of Switzerland’s most promising bands. Best kept secret? Not so much anymore, after supporting the likes of Queens of the Stone Age, Interpol, and The Kooks; earning features on BBC6 Music and BBC Introducing; and getting coverage in DIY Magazine.
A decade of unpretentious but hard work, honing a signature sound between dreamy pop melodies, crackling rock, and melancholic shoegaze, led to this day.
And today, Negative White proudly hosts the exclusive premiere of Fade In, Moonpools’ new single, out tomorrow.
A whirl of wobbly guitars introduces Fade In, a fast-paced song about being stuck. The fear of the future—with all its uncertainties—leaves you unable to decide, and yet the song hurtles forward. Breathless and bright, but never fully liberated. Always held back, always slightly constrained. A tension between the tempo, a desire to unfreeze, and an indecisive, distorted paralysis.
Melancholy and hopefulness blend so perfectly while the roaring guitar soars high above the Cure-esque synth and frontwoman Marcie Nyffeler’s defiantly vulnerable pleas.
Moonpools’ excellence lies in exactly this seamless balance between hope and despair. Sadness and joy. Their music has an uncanny charm that pulls you in and puts a spell on you. In 2022, I picked up two Australian hitchhikers in the Scottish Highlands: as my phone shuffled in Damaged Goods, they were intrigued and wanted to know who the artist was.
But with their 2024 EP Hide and Seek, Moonpools almost put themselves and their already excellent work on Damaged Goods to shame. In my review, I wrote: “It is more than a step; it is a leap up to the peak of Switzerland’s indie-rock hopefuls. Their talent for blending melancholy, beauty, and sophistication hides in plain sight; you do not have to seek their brilliance.”
The monumental song Never Mind even claimed first place in Negative White’s Top Songs of 2024.
And although it’s been two years since Moonpools released an original song, we shall not forget their magnificent cover of All Saints’ 2000 megahit Pure Shores, which also premiered with Negative White. Their interpretation is gentle, sounding incredibly natural as it stretches into infinity. If you didn’t know better, you might think the song came straight from their pen.
Damaged Goods was their initial breakthrough, earning international recognition. Never Mind was the result of honing their signature to perfection. And the cover of Pure Shores proved they can take something and make it their own.
Fade In is the consequence of it all: gritty, melodic, heartfelt, thrilling, and thoughtful. Moonpools aren’t deliberately pushing any genre’s envelope. They’re neither boldly experimental nor bland copycats. Moonpools’ music captures a mood with unmistakable intensity.
