FAKE MOON

With their 2021 debut, *Bummer*, Cobourg, Ontario’s cleopatrick earned their place in the fraternal order of alt-rock power duos alongside more seasoned peers like Death from Above 1979 and Royal Blood. But after showing how much noise they can make as a two-piece, singer/guitarist Luke Gruntz and drummer Ian Fraser want to foreground the melodic grace and emotional depth that sometimes got overshadowed by their earthquaking, fuzz-covered grooves. On *FAKE MOON*, they don’t so much resemble a downsized Soundgarden as a two-headed Sparklehorse, trading festival-sized riffage for lo-fi ambience, radio-ready polish for static-scuffed experimentation, and heavy-duty hooks for sundazed serenades. But *FAKE MOON* sees cleopatrick effortlessly slip into bedroom-indie mode as if they were throwing on a cozy old cardigan: Tracks like the acoustic-driven daydream “CHEW” and the sweetly psychedelic “LOVE YOU” feel less like radical breaks from cleopatrick’s past than revelations of their most authentic selves. And as grunge-folk standouts like “BAD GUY” and “HAMMER” attest, even when cleopatrick are playing softly, they still hit hard.

Canadian duo cleopatrick soften their edges and turn down the volume on fuzzy second album FAKE MOON.

It might be a giant leap for Cleopatrick, but they’re a few small steps away from landing it.