Galactic Cowboys - Long Way Back to the Moon

Galactic Cowboys Long Way Back to the Moon cover
Galactic Cowboys
Long Way Back to the Moon
Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group
2017
7.5
You know the funny thing with a band such as the Galactic Cowboys is that they came out at the tail end of the 80s – actually debuting in 1991, with their eponymous offering on Geffen, but that was also the year that Nirvana sort of swept everything else – rock – aside. So they were given little regard commercially. After a sophomore that was also not received too enthusiastically for a “major label” release, they were let go and after folding for a short period they changed guitarists and sacked their manager and respawned for a series of albums on Metal Blade. Their rather “unlikely” style of relatively heavy arrangements with usually soft vocals (in a style almost hippy – kinda Beatles like at times) is quite unique and so they’ve followed their muse on their lonesome…
 
Their last full release came back in 2000 in the form of the self-fulfilling prophecy of “Let It Go” and the band entering a long hiatus they disrupted briefly in 2009 for some local reunion concerts. They pretty much picked up where they had left back in the day, a couple of years ago and negotiated a deal with Mascot. “Long Way Back to the Moon” pretty much is true to the band’s legacy but obviously they sound a lot better and more mature, with quite the flair in their composition something that comes in stark contrast with a lot of long standing bands that totally grind the wheels while they’re going through the motions. A band that’s always been on the outside, not even trying to sound contemporary, just sounding rather timeless… quite something to be fucking proud of.
 
I have intentionally strayed from “picking tracks”. “LWBTTM” is a thoroughly enjoyable and solid album, that deserves to be experienced as a whole and not dissected to little “parts”. If I were too hard press, I’d say “Zombies” and “Internal Masquerade” are the first among equals.