Steve Moore - Eyes of Horus

After a 4-year hiatus from L.I.E.S. Records, Steve Moore returned with his longest project on the label to date. Moore's Eyes of Horus (2024) snakes through several different genres, with these highlighting Moore's storied musical past without anything feeling crammed in or out of place. The New Yorker has seemingly done it all, scoring for movies, being in the prog duo Zombi, trying his hand at horror movie-inspired disco, and so on. What comes across in all of these projects is a deep love for the synthesiser, a respect for the wave-driven music of the 80s, and, Of course, a love for the film. What's fantastic about this new album is that all these different characteristics of Steve Moore's career and personality come through. Eyes of Horus strikes me as a sci-fi dystopia, taking inspiration from classics like Blade Runner, Dune, or The Thing. It embraces the 80s aesthetic wholeheartedly but, in many ways, updates it with shinier effects and a more turn-down approach. Applying the old and the new makes for a wicked and diverse techno album.

The album begins with 'Point Dune' and a delicate Deckard's dream-esque synthesiser that becomes a constant throughout. Steve Moore's synthesisers have a warm and dazzling retro quality that sounds either ethereal, like viewing the cosmos, or a warning from the past or the future. 'Point Dune' embraces the latter, weightless but so bass-heavy. Yet the track that offers the most celestial experiences is 'Valerie 23'. It features vast swells that combine with glistening notes, creating a sound that seems to soar into the ether. The droning strings act as the atmospheric bad and lead to maximum weightlessness.

Moore's use of dull thudding kicks adds drama to the already slow beats on the album and contrasts the crunchy percussion. This dichotomy leaves each track as an expression of disgruntled numbness. The bass builds on these feelings in 'The Blue Stone' as more elements become dissonant and overwhelming before snapping into a laser focus. The title track, 'Eye Of Horus', builds on the drama with gritty bass notes so tactile you'd think someone is running their fingers over your exposed ribcage. The minor progressions throughout give the feeling of an imminent explosion waiting to erupt on each cut as tension rises. Steve Moore demonstrates a mastery of tension with escalating siren synths that distantly float behind 'Elberon Place'. The final track on the album takes tension to a whole other level. 'Three Sisters' builds with such finesse it speeds up the track—huge swells accompanied by a familiar arpeggiating melody reminiscent of John Carpenter's 1978 cult soundtrack for Halloween. An eeriness permeates the whole track, and a palpable urgency builds with your heart rate.

Tracklist:

1. Point Dune

2. The Blue Stone

3. Valerie 23

4. Eye Of Horus

5. Elberon Place

6. Three Sisters

Label: L.I.E.S. Records

Steve Moore - Eyes of Horus