Reach the Stars by Moonlife is a unique synth-pop album!   My favorite song on the album is Failing which is a dark, moody song with a killer piano sound.  I also really enjoyed the song That Was Then as it reminded me of something that would have been on The Beach soundtrack alongside Moby’s song, Porcelain or the All Saints track.  It’s a dreamy song that leaves you feeling reminiscent of times past.  Another one of my favorites is I Heard You because it is a cool, catchy dance song.  There are not very many happy carefree songs out there anymore which is what makes this song so refreshing.
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People seem to have a guilt complex when it comes to admitting a preference for certain ‘80s New Wave artists. Of course, this isn’t case with New Wave fans that have no problems with walking in public in a Depeche Mode T-shirt. But for the most part the synthesizer brotherhood from the NW family often gets tossed in the “guilty pleasures” category as if listening to Bronski Beat or the Human League is equal to watching Jerry Springer or downloading Asian porn. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, the electronic pop group Moonlife seem to be saying on their album cover, proudly garbed in glam and gothic threads that scream totally ‘80s (and also late ‘70s). Well, their self-confidence is understandable; you, too, would have your head up after releasing one of the year’s best albums.
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These guys have had their fair share of poppy gothic leaning techno. They're routed firmly in the New Order frameset of music. It's not all bad, in fact "Angel" is probably as catchy and awesome as any 80's era techno outfit could manage to create. A lot of folks will cast this off as derivative and that's the falling point of this record; it's easily classifiable and certainly predictable but that doesn't make it any less fun.
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On Reach the Stars, Moonlife are dancing in heaven, utilizing layers of vintage New Romantic keyboard sounds to create their own form of orbital be-bop.

To most music listeners in their thirties, Reach the Stars covers familiar terrain: the bouncy, electronic chorus of "I Heard You (On the Telephone)" recalls the Buggles’ "Video Killed the Radio Star"; "Cruel" is reminiscent of vintage New Order; and the other tracks reveal the influence of Erasure and Depeche Mode.

Now Moonlife are caught in a Catch-22 – too commercial for the independent scene, too independent for the commercial scene. But with a group like the Bravery penetrating the mainstream with even more synthesizers and Duran Duran-styled vocal hooks, Moonlife is going to Reach the Stars eventually...
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