Swell Album: Half Moon Run - Dark Eyes [indie rock / indie folk]

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Although you may still have yet to catch wind of this Montreal-based, Craigslist-formed indie rock band, Half Moon Run have been paving quite the path to success for themselves. Having opened for Metric, Patrick Watson, Of Monsters And Men, Wintersleep, and Mumford & Sons in the wake of last year's Canada-only release (via Indica) of their outstanding debut album Dark Eyes, the four-piece (recently added 4th member not pictured above) have been subjected to thousands upon thousands of adoring fans of indie rock, folk, and indie pop, including one sold out show where they played to 18,000 eager Mumford & Sons fans.

While Half Moon Run may not sound very much like any of the aforementioned artists, their eclectic sound, which is influenced by the four members' common love for Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, and Fleet Foxes among others, and multi-instrumental stage performance have attracted the attention of not only those bands' loyal fans, but also Mumford & Sons label Glassnote Records. They were recently added to their roster to join the ranks of other indie greats Phoenix, Two Door Cinema Club, GIVERS, The Temper Trap, and CHVRCHES. This kind of exposure and the global release of Dark Eyes will be sure to give Half Moon Run the attention they deserve.

The twelve expansive songs on Dark Eyes combine the complex arrangements and electronic elements of Radiohead, the darker indie folk of Lost in the Trees, the vocal harmonies of Fleet Foxes, and guitars and percussion reminiscent of Local Natives to leave you with an album that varies track to track genre-wise but manages to hold itself together thanks to lead singer Devon Portielje's capturing, soulful voice.

Listen to a handful of songs from Dark Eyes below, stream the album in its entirety via RollingStone here, purchase the album online here, and look for it on record store shelves sometime in June.