Given the profound changes Hayden Thorpe experienced after Wild Beasts ended, it was only natural that he looked inward. At once raw with loss and a healing space, his debut solo album, Diviner, broached the themes of desire and identity he explored with his former band in a down-to-earth way that drew listeners close and trusted that they'd pay attention. On Moondust for My Diamond, it feels just as natural for Thorpe to step outside himself and put his faith in the world around him. The shift in his mood makes itself ...
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Given the profound changes Hayden Thorpe experienced after Wild Beasts ended, it was only natural that he looked inward. At once raw with loss and a healing space, his debut solo album, Diviner, broached the themes of desire and identity he explored with his former band in a down-to-earth way that drew listeners close and trusted that they'd pay attention. On Moondust for My Diamond, it feels just as natural for Thorpe to step outside himself and put his faith in the world around him. The shift in his mood makes itself known quickly: the weightless acoustic strumming and mellow acceptance of "The Universe Is Right" feels light years from Diviner's struggles, and "Material World"'s synths sparkle like sunbeams. Nature and the wonder it inspires in him is a major motif of songs such as "Golden Ratio," and Thorpe combines this awe with a luxe sensuality inherited from Wild Beasts' latter-day albums; the song title "Supersensual" is an apt description of this record (and Thorpe's body of work in general). The hyperreal lushness of Smother and Boy King resurfaces on the glossy "Metafeeling" and "No Such Thing," where prowling synths give an extra jolt to realizations like "Within this skin/I am boundless." Working with Bullion and Richard Formby -- who also helped shape 2020's Aerial Songs EP -- Thorpe's embrace of a wide range of sounds feels all the more vital compared to Diviner's sober, largely acoustic palette. Warping electronics illustrate his questioning on "Suspended Animation," while "Rational Heartache" blends post-punk guitar and house-inspired piano into one of the album's most dynamic songs. Thorpe adds some intriguing wrinkles to Moondust's polished sounds with his lyrics. He makes "LMFAO" sound like a mantra on "Runaway World," and finds himself "somewhere between mystery and hope" on "Hotel November Tango," which gives the introspection of his debut a darkly electronic twist. Though its smoothness sometimes makes Moondust for My Diamond a little less immediate than Diviner, it's the perfect complement to that album's somber reflections and another confident step forward in his creative journey. ~ Heather Phares, Rovi
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