Review: Kæry Ann ‘Moonstone’
Here we are, it’s 2026, and it’s my first review for a brand-new year! Better make sure this one sets the benchmark for twelve months of incredible new music! And it’s an absolute belter of an album that I’m kicking off with, it’s the new album from Italy’s Kæry Ann, it’s entitled Moonstone, and it’s every bit as awesome as I hoped it would be.
Even though they are new to me, after a few listens through, I feel like I’ve known them forever. It has a very homely and reminiscent feel; I get a warmth and familiarity that I enjoy with some of my most cherished albums, and to see it nestled in amongst those is an incredibly easy vision indeed.
Sound wise, I get comparisons to a few bands, and by comparisons, I mean the feelings I get as they don’t necessarily sound the same. Predominantly I get Blackwater Holylight, Warpaint, and at times even The Duke Spirit, who are a band I hold a lot of love for. It isn’t heavily abrasive but has an air of alternative indie rock swagger in the mix which really shakes things up. It’s the staple to most of my favourite music, and I have a long-standing love for low-key fuzzy rock bands with a sultry female vocal that gives a warmth and texture unlike a male counterpart.
With Kæry Ann, what we find is that the moniker is a nickname for the singer-songwriter and guitarist Erika Azzini, who is the face of the outfit, and is joined by Francesca Papi on bass, Davide Rosa on guitar, and Fabio Orticoni on drums. Between the foursome, they have created one of the most wonderfully hypnotic albums I’ve come across in quite a while, and one which I know is going to stay with me for a very long time.
As for Moonstone itself, the opus comprises of seven tracks, each one rolls effortlessly into the next, and in doing so weaves a path through your soul and deep into your heart.
Opening with Puritatem Tuam Interiorem Serva, a five-and-a-half-minute trance-inducing sonnet which will have you fall under its spell if you let it. You would also be forgiven from this initial experience for thinking that the album may well be a darkly intoxicating affair, but stay with me, fellow traveller, that isn’t going to be the case. To translate the Latin title to simple English for you, it means Keep Your Inner Purity, and I think that’s a good philosophy to work to. It’s also a spiritually deep concept and works well with the mood and feel of the piece, which is hard and sonically deep too.
An absolutely magical album from start to finish that will stay with you long after its time…
It’s track two, Todeslied, where I really fall for this album. It isn’t heavy or abrasive in its DNA, but effortlessly works its magic as it seeps deep inside my heart with ease. It has a grungy charm and with a warmth to the vocal, it isn’t a track that expects you to work to enjoy it, you just will, without really knowing why.
The Road and Mariner’s Song, tracks three and five respectively, both fully materialise a heavier dark ambience, and a depth which is different and unique in comparison to elsewhere on the album. Both mix the restrained and understated with more urgent, vibrant flourishes, lifting the pieces beyond merely keeping the tone of the album constant. This is especially true on Mariner’s Song where it opens into a punchier percussion and an intoxicating guitar break that is absolutely luscious.
Elsewhere, there is a nice juxtaposition in potency between the tracks Hero And Leander and Shores In Flames. The former is a nice and easy paced piece, it isn’t at all heavy, quite the opposite really, and has an otherworldly vibe. It works nicely against Shores In Flames, which is a reimagining of the Bathory classic. It’s dark and brooding, and in parallel carries a heavier presence that feels genuinely foreboding.
White Dress ties off the album and is perhaps my favourite track of the whole affair. It has nods towards Emma Ruth Rundle, or even Chelsea Wolfe in density, and as it plays through, there’s a dark beauty that resides within. It’s eloquent and considered, with real attention paid to the experience. It’s romantically mournful and leaves the listener pining for more, long after its demise.
An absolutely magical album from start to finish that will stay with you long after its time, and one I hope you take to your heart in the same way I have.
Label: Subsound Records
Band Links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Spotify | Instagram
Scribed by: Lee Beamish
