Moontype

Moontype is songwriter Margaret McCarthy’s dreamworld come to life. Based in Chicago, Illinois, the project is performed with a lineup ranging from solo to full ensemble. Current collaborators include Emerson Hunton on drums, and Joe Suikhonen and Andrew Clinkman on guitar. Quiet emotions that McCarthy explores with her bass become, with the band, as large and as musically complex as a mood itself: cathartic, angsty, and unmet. Like reading a diary in a crowded room, it puts words to sentiments that are difficult to express: how to be open to the depth of relationships while still holding onto yourself. Moontype released their debut album, Bodies of Water, in 2021 to critical acclaim. The New York Times described their single Ferry as having a sound that “marries the woozy swoon of Beach House with the rising sweep of a Galaxie 500 song, though McCarthy’s voice cuts through the haze with direct emotional lucidity.” Pictures by Ash Dye