Half Moon Run

Half Moon Run, an emotionally charged and atmospherically expansive indie rock outfit hailing from Montreal, blends primordial alternative pop textures with intricately layered, harmony-rich contemporary folk traditions. Emerging as a foursome of versatile musicians during the first part of the 2010s, they achieved early acclaim via two albums that attained gold and platinum status, conjuring expansive sonic landscapes reminiscent of Other Lives, Alt-J, and Fleet Foxes. Their appeal persisted among listeners and reviewers through the Juno Award-winning A Blemish in the Great Light from 2020 and the more austere, introspective Salt issued in 2023, on which they performed as a three-piece.

The Canadian ensemble, assembled in 2010 by vocalists and multi-instrumentalists Devon Portielje, Conner Molander, Dylan Phillips, and Isaac Symonds, put out their first record, Dark Eyes, via Indica Records in 2012, an effort that achieved gold certification. "Full Circle" drove its success as a hit single, leading to an international launch the next year when it reached the eighth position on Canada's pop albums chart. Their second studio album, Sun Leads Me On, came out in 2015 and climbed to number four while attaining platinum status thanks to the popular track "Trust." After sporadic touring in subsequent years, they resurfaced in 2019 via the energetic, rhythm-focused "Then Again," featured on their third LP, A Blemish in the Great Night, which earned Adult Alternative Album of the Year honors at the Juno Awards in 2020.

Following that release, Isaac Symonds departed for Western Canada, concluding his recorded contributions with the 2020 EP Seasons of Change. Another EP titled Inwards & Onwards came forth in 2022. In early 2023, Half Moon Run issued the tracks "Alco" and "Everybody's Moving Out East" ahead of the album Salt, which materialized later in the year. Crafted amid the COVID-19 pandemic, this record addressed prevailing social and political concerns yet sustained an underlying current of optimism and endurance.