REVIEW: Modern Life Is War - Life on the Moon

After more than a decade of silence, Modern Life Is War return with Life on the Moon, an album that feels less like a comeback and more like a confrontation with time itself. It is a record of dualities - grief set against moments of joy, absence against flashes of connection, despair against the flicker of transcendence. What makes it powerful is not simply the songs themselves, but the way they contrast and collide, constantly shifting between extremes, mirroring the way memory and emotion intertwine in real life.

The opening 'Invocation' plays like a ritual, hushed and atmospheric, inviting the listener into a liminal space. Its quiet eeriness sets a tone of reflection and anticipation, making the arrival of 'First Song on the Moon' even more dramatic. That track bursts in with rocky, Soft Play–style energy, jagged guitars, and dramatic, insistent drums. If the opener embodies absence, 'First Song' embodies presence: a rush of vitality that reminds the listener that the band are alive, restless, and unflinching after a decade away. The emotional contrast between these two tracks - quiet introspection followed by an urgent declaration - becomes a throughline for the album, echoing the tension between mourning and living.

Nowhere is this tension more palpable than in 'There Is A Telephone That Never Stops Ringing' and 'Empty Shoes'. 'Telephone' is relentless, propelled by commanding vocals and fast, pounding drums. It captures grief as noise, the suffocating weight of longing, and the anxiety of connections that are never fully resolved. In contrast, 'Empty Shoes' drifts into a ghostly, haunted space, opening with a chilling gust of sound that evokes absence itself. Where 'Telephone' demands attention with urgency, 'Empty Shoes' lingers quietly, almost invisible, yet leaving a deeper, spectral mark. The emotional push and pull between these two songs mirrors the oscillation of real grief - sometimes overwhelming, sometimes invisible - but always persistent.

In the album’s middle section, the band balances intensity with eccentricity. 'Jackie Oh No' and 'Johnny Gone' are both narrative-driven, the former jagged and theatrical, the latter gritty and grounded. These tracks bring a sense of unpredictability, like flashes of personality or humour amidst weighty emotion. Then comes 'Homecoming Queen', which softens the atmosphere with bittersweet nostalgia. Its melodic, almost tender delivery is undercut by a subtle unease, highlighting the complexity of memory: joy is never free of shadow.

The reimagined tracks add further layers of contrast. 'You Look Like the Morning Sun' glows with hope and warmth, while 'In the Shadow of Ingredion' plunges into tension and shadow, darker and heavier than its earlier version. 'Bloodsport' brings raw aggression, reminding the listener that survival is active and defiant, not merely contemplative. Meanwhile, 'Kid Hard Dub' upends expectations entirely with warped, experimental textures, disorienting the listener and forcing a reconsideration of the album’s narrative flow. Its presence highlights the band’s willingness to explore emotional and sonic extremes, leaving space for reflection.

The closing tracks, 'Over the Road' and 'Talismanic', bring the record full circle. 'Over the Road' is expansive and meditative, a slow burn of melancholy mixed with resilience. 'Talismanic' closes the album like a ritual, quiet, reverent, and haunting, leaving the listener suspended between mourning and transcendence. The contrast with the opening tracks underscores the album’s cyclical nature, framing grief, absence, and survival as ongoing processes rather than finite events.

Life on the Moon thrives on these emotional contrasts. Loud eruptions are balanced by ghostly silences, nostalgia is tempered with unease, and past songs are reframed to reflect present pain and hope. Modern Life Is War capture grief in all its shifting forms: screaming, silence, laughter, and memory. After more than a decade away, the band haven’t merely returned - they’ve transformed absence into presence, despair into fleeting joy, and pain into a powerful, lasting dialogue.

Score: 8/10

Life on the Moon will be released on September 5th 2025 via Deathwish Inc. and Iodine Recordings.

Words: Mia Gailey

Photos: Modern Life Is War