THERE’S NOTHING BETTER THAN HANGING OUT WITH A BUNCH OF MOONLIT STRAYS AND LISTENING TO THEIR NEW ALBUM
“DREAMING IN THE PINK ROOM”
The album “Dreaming in the Pink Room” by the Moonlit Strays, who are the stray cats Michael Abiuso and Chloe Gifkins, is full of indie gems that will make you want to take a long road trip.
For this album, the duo leans further into their personal record crates to mine the sounds they grew up hearing, producing an album of tracks intended to help one another navigate their futures. The 11-track album was written in various places across the United States—from coastal Maine to the North Shore of Oahu—and recorded in Abiuso’s Behind the Curtains Media in Brooklyn, NY.
Many of the album’s tracks reference different genres such as dub, country, and doo-wop, and the breadth of focus here is designed to give the listener access to the mind of a group that sounds themselves uniquely regardless of the influence on or location that the songs may have been conceptualized. There are inclusions such as Sweet and Southside with their straightforward immediacy and bluesy molasses tempos. These are contrasted by tracks such as “Cocaine and Rhinestones”, written in collaboration with NY singer-songwriter Elks de Joule–a stomping foray into the desert with a disco-tinged chorus—and “Nothing Like You”—which starts off plodding and blossoms into an infectious, danceable beat.
“Pink Room is a series of love notes from a lover, brother, or friend, tucked somewhere for you to find in the future. Many of the songs are explicitly about an experience of a time in my life but others are more metaphorical and explore shared or universal experiences. These aren’t all my personal encounters but they’re all definitely things I can relate to and wanted to share.”
Chloe Gifkins
“Chloe and I have been challenging each other from day one, whether it be traveling, photographing and/or creating music. We’ve played, written and recorded music for years now and each time, I can see, hear and feel the growth of both of us, and to me that is priceless and something that I am incredibly honored to have experienced with one of my favorite humans.”
Mike Abiuso
All songs written by Chloe Gifkins and Mike Abiuso except “Cocaine and Rhinestones” written by Elks De Joule, Chloe Gifkins, and Mike Abiuso.
Produced by Mike Abiuso at Behind the Curtains Media in Brooklyn, NY.
All instrumentation by Mike Abiuso, except for noted below:
“Somebody Else” – Sets the tone of the album with the slow groove, the longing lyrics “I can’t love you baby, I can’t love you if you’re loving somebody else”. With guitar delays and echoing distant cries supporting the haunting vocals, how can you resist the singer’s pleas?
“Ces’t La Vie” – An acoustic gem that takes you to the beaches of Hawaii, complete with the sound of a uke-like acoustic guitar, and the classic Pacific Island slide guitar.
“Ebb and Flow” – A faster-paced indie song, this one will get you dancing and feel like getting into a vintage car to take a road trip.
“Coast” – Reggae done right, with drums by Ivan Katz who is in the incredible reggae band “Easy Star All-Stars”.
“Sweet” – the first single released off the album, with an incredible music video accompanying that was shot on location in Hawaii.
“Firefly” – One of the heavier tracks on the album, with Matt Ernst on drums, heavier guitar work, and giving Roots Americana vibes a la the Black Keys.
“Nothing Like You” – A haunting track, enhanced by the use of a variety of percussion, organ, and the quintessential vocals of Chloe Gifkins who explains, “Oh I’m nothing like you, I was made differently”
“Star Trails” – Another of the heavier indie-rock tracks with emphasized electric guitar and featuring the drummer Sonny Ratcliff.
“Cocaine and Rhinestones” – The second single released from the album featuring doubled vocals of Chloe and Elks De Joule who also inspired and co-wrote the song. At the opening of the track, you know you have been called out west, to a roadside dive bar that has the best jukebox full of 70s classics you’ve ever heard.
“South Side” – The end of the album brings us right back to the Hamptons. The story tells of change, she admits that the focus of her song and she have become two ships passing in the night, with Chloe weighing the values of money, “you already have everything you need…”
What a great line to end an album that involves so much travel and soul-searching.
