by Devon Chodzin (@bigugly)
Maryam Qudus is concerned. She has every right to be: there is an impending climate crisis that threatens the existence of all life on Earth, yet the US political establishment is more concerned with punishing immigrants for existing in US jurisdiction. All that anxiety was getting in the way of her creative work as Spacemoth until Qudus realized she could channel her concerns through her synthesizers. The end result is an impressive debut album for the sought-after analog producer – the 13-track record, No Past No Future, is some of the most potent retro-futurism out there. Layers of vintage synthesizers, accompanied by forward-thrusting guitars and drums, mesh with Qudus’ spectral vocals to craft a catchy art-pop/space-rock mixture.
No Past No Future opens with crashing, disorienting synthesizers before streamlining into “This Shit,” a propulsive spacey punk track delivered with an iconic deadpan. “This Shit” connects the inconveniences that color daily life with the national and international political nightmares that similarly vex Qudus – all that one can do is ask when it’ll all be over. That political concern is deployed empathetically on “Pipe and Pistol,” a track inspired by her parents’ wonky and convoluted experience immigrating to the United States from Afghanistan. Building a new life in late ‘70s America is a psychedelic experience unto itself.
High point “Waves Come Crashing” is noisy and bass-heavy, with synths that ebb and flow with dynamism like the waves she invokes as she considers her own mortality and that of her partner. She admits, “When the waves come crashing / I will beg for the sea / To take me first.” The desire to die before your partner is all too real. The timbre lowers further on “Asking For You,” an eerie synth-punk number surrounding Qudus’ concern for women experiencing harassment. “Round In Loops” possesses the same odd catchiness, addressing the quotidian cycles of daily life and considering the possibility of escape.
Much of the remaining tracks after “Round In Loops” lean into Spacemoth’s art-pop palette. Tracks like “If I Close My Eyes And Pretend” have the noisy pop aura of a catchy Broadcast number, while “Noise of Everyday Life” sounds like a deep-fried club banger a la Robyn. “Noise of Everyday Life” is the most danceable Spacemoth track to date. “Berries and Watch You Cry” begins modestly with layers of minimalist strummed guitars that eventually grow into synth-laden space indie. The even-keeled track leads into the dramatic “No Past No Future,” the record’s closer, an intergalactic reckoning between pessimism and optimism. As much as Qudus might desire some easy answers to her growing concern, her final track on her first Spacemoth record suggests that harmony may have to be found amongst the disharmony in order to identify workable solutions for one’s self and one’s community. The haunting la-la-las suggest that harmony, but Qudus is not naive – it’s not going to be an easy path forward.