Tora Luna – Springtide Moodride (2025)
An authentic celebration of human connection and musical collaboration, Tora Luna’s debut Springtide Moonride offers a refreshing blend of genres and voices that move through masterful instrumentation and momentous organic effects. Recorded entirely live by a wide array of contributing vocalists and musicians, the EP stands as a feat in synergetic partnership and raw vibrancy.
Each of Springtide Moonride’s five tracks seems to carry a unique sound and energy, yet the project comes together seamlessly in its ambition and radical playfulness. Opener ‘Venus, Temptress’, featuring ANELIE, cloaks dark-pop melodrama in shimmering textures, while ‘Why Wouldn’t You Say So?’ becomes a charged duet between Johnson and Deslynn Smith, layered with Ellie Parker’s writing and arranging finesse. The EP’s closing track, Romy Deighton shines on ‘I’d Forgive You In A Heartbeat, But I Can’t Forgive Myself’, her haunting delivery anchoring the project’s emotional core.
Standout track ‘Olive Branch’ serves to encapsulate the band’s ethos and eclecticism. What began as a genre experiment, initially influenced by Blur, AC/DC, and Vampire Weekend classics, morphed into a kaleidoscopic indie gem. Crafted by Tora Luna’s cofounders Alex Broadgate and Dominic Johnson alongside producer Gus White, the track’s storytelling, shifting time signatures, and sudden detour into folky chaos evokes a franticness that is carefully juxtaposed by enduring traditional melody.
Seasonal and cyclical, the title Springtide Moonride proves as apt as it is evocative. Produced in a countryside barn turned studio, the dreamy and uninhibited five tracks swirl together in creative harmony, with genuine expression at their core. DIY sound effects can be heard throughout the EP, as the instrumentation was shaped by whatever tools were available and whatever moods came about organically.
In a musical landscape that seems increasingly obsessed with polish, Springtide Moonride stands as a joyous and slightly chaotic rebuttal to an uninspired standard. The promising debut undoubtedly values collaboration over control, texture over tidiness, and emotion over algorithm, proving Tora Luna’s impressive musical aptitude.
Find out more about Tora Luna on their official website, Instagram and Spotify.
