Moonspeed

Even at the height of Bright Channel's popularity and on-stage volume, leader Jeff Suthers played occasional acoustic shows as a solo artist. When Moonspeed, Bright Channel's successor, debuted, Suthers seemingly had found a way to indulge both his predilections: vast, untamed soundscapes and whispery songcraft. Flowers of the Moon (whose release will be celebrated December 5 at the Larimer Lounge) is Moonspeed's introductory full-length, and it's a triumphant containment of the group's almost overwhelming sprawl: With eleven instrumental contributors hailing from local outfits such as Snake Rattle Rattle Snake and Pacific Pride, the disc drapes delicate membranes of texture and melody over Suthers's shimmering, melancholic songs. Instead of a tangle, though, Flowers is a manicured and even airy album that feels simultaneously chained to the heart and ready to drift into outer space at any moment.