Space Donkey and the Moonbouncers Wax Nostalgic on "Paul Berry"

Following their appearance at the first - and only - Dot Gov residency gig at Bourbon & Branch planned for this month, local jammers Space Donkey and the Moonbouncers dropped a verbose and melancholic track, dipping with pedal tones and directly abstract turns-of-phrase. What this track lacks in SDMB’s typical overtly funky sound, it makes up for with deceptively profound lyrics and vibrative keyboard riffs.

With inspirations that pull from specific elements of Frank Ocean, Rex Orange County, Vulfpeck, and Yam Yam, it’s easy to see where the growth and change within SDMB’s sound is coming from. Because they play within the realm of jazz and rock, their syncopation is always pretty tight and refined. They’re comfortable in a jam space and can move fast. “Paul Berry” reigns in that sound listeners are used to - outrageously funky, guitar-heavy with spitfire lyrics - and pulls us into a space of slowed down sonic nostalgia. Recorded by Zachary Washko Productions and mastered by KouqJ at Seventh Wave Studio, “Paul Berry” - co-written by Paul Berry - is like an iceberg of a song. On the surface, it’s smooth and easily digestible, but underneath it’s layered with technicalities.

I’m a big fan of the vocal changeup. The everyman take on the choruses makes this song seem wide and consuming, with effort coming from all three members. The confidant spirit within the verse section, thanks to Peter Ferris’s no-holds-barred delivery, listens like a sudden but purposeful intermission until it smoothly transitions back to the chorus. Ferris, Zachary Washko, and Eric Lesinski balance their various parts with a directly structured, no-room-for-improv (but not in an uptight way) sort of feel. The inclusion of an organ is also just incredibly cool. Knowing that a band who usually jams has that duality within their playing style is important, because it’s easy to fall into the overt jam band stereotype. SDMB is doing everything right in my book.

Though there are no shows on the horizon due to the obvious state of things, Space Donkey and the Moonbouncers are one of countless bands dropping new tracks to help us all get through this uncertainty with a little bit of sanity. Stream “Paul Berry” over and over, or better yet, buy it on Bandcamp, because today the site is waiving 100% of their fees straight to the artists.