Moon's Milk (In Four Phases)

Beginning in spring 1998, Coil released a series of four EPs for that and each season that followed into 1999, themed specifically around the solstice and equinox moments on the overall solar calendar, a combination of the mystic and scientific. In 2002, the four were compiled and formally released as Moon’s Milk (In Four Phases), presenting a striking overview of both the entire project as well as Coil’s evolving return to releasing work underneath that name. John Balance, Peter Christopherson and Drew McDowall again remained the core, with guests including Thighpaulsandra, William Breeze on electric viola and Rose McDowall. With a general theme of the year’s progression at play in the titles, from “Summer Substructures” to “Christmas Now Is Drawing Near,” the overall effect of Moon’s Milk is of an extended, undefinable trip of the best sort as various sonic and vocal elements intertwine, ranging from contemplative flow to squirrelly loops to sudden sonic chaos. Balance’s own vocal appearances range from the seemingly quotidian to the deeply cryptic, pitched somewhere between ritual and exploration.