Melbourne’s Moon Elevator Shimmers with Gauzy Dream Pop and Post-Punk in “All Bridges Burn Behind You”

Have all your lovers forgotten your name
Were they all washed away in the rain at the end of a cul-de-sac?
I won’t listen to a word, unless I’ve said it first

Moon Elevator’s All Bridges Burn Behind You is a six-track plunge into woozy shoegaze and cosmic post-punk, a feverish blend that plays like an iridescent slow-burn dream. The trio—mastermind Gareth Sobey on vocals, guitar, and synths, Stephanie Davis on bass synth, and drummer Nigel Moyes—take listeners on a deeply personal trip through Sobey’s biography.

Formed originally as Sobey’s solo project, Moon Elevator now explores transformation through light and shadow. The EP moves between a range of influences – the shimmery haze of shoegaze; the cosmic dreaming of 60s psychedelia; the blissed out warmth of dream pop and ambient music; the melancholy brooding of post–punk’s most languid balladeers. With shades of Slowdive, Regeneration-era Divine Comedy, The Cure, and Ride, the EP has a haunting, desert-spun feel that wraps around you like a dark, starlit night.

All Bridges Burn Behind You focuses on transformation, a turning point where all futures feel open. In his twenties, Sobey battled anxiety and depression, haunted by formative experiences he couldn’t shake. That changed when a bandmate handed him Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now. Sobey experienced an unexpected break from the grip of his past, feeling a rare moment of untethered joy. This marked the beginning of a years-long journey of inner work—therapy, meditation, and soul-searching—where he finally made peace with his history, embracing a more connected, joyful existence in the present.

The EP started as a series of experiments in Sobey’s home studio, driven by a need for unfiltered self-expression. Having spent years as a guitarist and vocalist relying on others for production, Sobey taught himself how to use Ableton and independently produce beats and basslines. He broke away from familiar habits, retuning his Fender Jaguar and exploring new sounds on analog synthesizers. The sound of Moon Elevator developed with lush, cinematic textures, influenced as much by Sobey’s experience in photo editing and color grading as by any musical background.

In Washed Away, defiance runs deep. The song’s headstrong protagonist refuses to listen to anything but their own echo, a stubborn self-reliance that leaves past lovers washed from memory like debris in the rain. It’s a reflection on abandonment and loss, but the tone remains strong, unyielding.

Meanwhile, January Sun shines with the warmth of a love that’s lasted. The speaker recalls a connection forged in youth, one that’s strengthened with time. Maps and charts hint at a long, winding journey—both emotional and physical—through which the couple has become “greater than the sum of their parts.” Resilience and admiration fuel the lyrics, showing love that has endured against the odds.

Hourglass carries a post-punk pulse in the vein of Fad Gadget’s later work, with echoing synths and hushed, almost whispered vocals that wrap around you like a fog. There’s something hypnotic in its slow, languid flow, but beneath it all, an uneasy tension lurks. The sound may be soft, but it feels like the calm before a storm, with an unsettling undercurrent that keeps you on edge. The mix of crooning vocals and poetic lyrics gives it a dreamlike quality, but there’s a distinct sense that something darker is just around the corner, waiting to surface.

Warning Bell slides into resonating shoegaze and gothic rock territory with a haze of surf guitars in the distance and eerie, ghostly vocals that feel like whispers from another world. There’s a poetic strangeness to it, as if Tom Verlaine had taken a dose of Benadryl, his words floating through a fog of sound. The track feels both ethereal and unnerving, like a warning from somewhere far off but closing in. Its dreamy atmosphere would find itself at home in any David Lynch soundscape.

The Shape of Tomorrow channels a lost Echo and the Bunnymen vibe with its heavy, psychedelic drumming and airy, atmospheric synths. The crooning vocals add a layer of beauty that feels both nostalgic and fresh. The track’s rhythm is steady but expansive, creating an almost hypnotic feeling, while the overall mood is strange yet inviting. It evokes a sense of floating through something familiar but slightly out of reach, a song that feels like it belongs to another time – or dimension. Illusions kicks things up a notch with a brighter drumbeat and expansive synths in the ether.

All Bridges Burn Behind You is out now. Listen to the album below:

Moon Elevator is launching the EP with a debut show at The Workers Club in Melbourne on Thursday, the th17 October, supported by Kino Motel and Damn Williams.

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