Moonspeed

The grandeur and cosmic intensity of a band like Bright Channel are both nearly impossible to live up to. But somehow, Jeff Suthers and Shannon Stein have assembled an unwieldy group of eleven people to write and perform songs that make them excited to be creating music again. Many acts with expansive live rosters lose the nuance of their players' individual instrumentation, but Moonspeed's arrangements ensure that each person is heard contributing to what amounts to a space-rock chamber orchestra. Rather than Bright Channel's visceral ocean of sound, however, Moonspeed (due at the Larimer Lounge on Sunday, July 13) offers an almost tribal vibe, with complex, finely orchestrated rhythms that result in exhilarating atmospheres that swirl in the heart and the imagination long after the songs have ended. This is a trip that's well worth taking.