New York indie creative project In Luna’s Garden unites purpose and productivity, throughout the conceptual deep dive and genre-fusion of their brand new album Mina vs the Pit of Despair.
Beginning with a Content Warning, the album sets out to explore the story of a girl who attempts to commit suicide, but winds up immersed in an Alice in Wonderland-style adventure – within which she’s forced to confront her mental health demons. It’s a dark topic, but broadly relatable, and the album is loaded with imagery and ideas that feel hopeful and optimistic in contrast with the desperation at its core.
SOS is the first full-length track, introducing us to an emo-rock vocal and fully-loaded, electronic rock to pop-punk musical set-up that’s quickly distinct. The stories are the beating heart of the songs, long-form verses holding nothing back in terms of this adventure and the conflict within the self. It’s a strong opening track, with a final third that switches gears melodically and lyrically to reinforce the inspiring themes of the collection.
We then move into Mina’s Daily Routine, and a brighter musicality ensues, along with fiercely confronting lyrics, and a brilliantly creative structure – from quiet moments to the sheer tumble and crash of live drums, the music carves out a mighty and nostalgic, progressive and powerful lane.
Doctor! Doctor! then injects a heavier distortion and a snappy hook, to effectively recapture any wandering minds. The cinematic qualities of the project begin to stand tall, and this continues throughout the likes of a brilliantly engaging and musically exhilarating Down The Rabbit Hole.
Arrangement matters, and the album has it down on the storytelling front. The solo piano Intermission is perfectly placed, and the acoustic fingerstyle groove to intense distortion of Katana/Training Montage follows brilliantly. Then we get the quirky energy and bounce yet juxtaposed destruction and heartbreak of Loneliness. Creative contrast is quite masterfully utilised throughout the project.
Other highlights include the suddenly melodic instrumental shift of a captivating Death, an unexpected earworm but an expressively evolving work; and a personal favourite. The high-octane pop-punk rhythm and vocal passion of We’re Painting the Roses Black works equally well in hindsight, before the intimate acoustic whisper of Chemical Suicide redirects us from My Chemical Romance territory towards something a little more Elliott Smith-like, before a huge finish twists things back in favour of instrumental fullness and a choir of voices.
Daughter of the Moon wraps up the journey with drama and depth, with passion and purpose again beautifully united. The musicianship is second to none, the performance compelling, the lyrical content and changes in direction all helping reinforce this push-pull dynamic that is the lightness of life and the finality of death.
Fourteen tracks in full make up Mina vs the Pit of Despair, a novel-esque album but one with clear threads of relatable struggle and personal turmoil that connect in an alternative and welcoming way. The artistic nature of each song holds attention well – switches to spoken fragments, musical breaks, adlibs, outcries and whispers all appearing intermittently. It’s a colourful and melodically likable venture, with lashings of devastation and devotion carefully blended together in a deeply human fashion.
All profits from the album are being donated to suicide prevention charities – Download Mina vs the Pit of Despair via Bandcamp or find all things In Luna’s Garden.
