The Moment of Nightfall and Tony Jay

The temptation to wrap up the year seems to have caught quite a few early in 2024, but it’s hard when there’s still so many albums just eking their way out. This captivating collaboration between San Francisco stalwart Tony Jay and Japanese indie outfit The Moment of Nightfall is just the kind of thing that’s bound to get swept away with the December winds if we’re not careful. Michael Ramos has been a fixture of San Francisco’s vibrant indie pop scene, cropping up in Flowertown, Cindy, Sad Eyed Beatniks, and early versions of April Magazine all while maintaining his mysterious persona as Tony Jay. This summer as Tony Jay travelled to Japan for a short tour, the album was hatched over two days of August heat. Despite the sweltering weather, everything on Winter Dream is cold and composed, not a hint of sweat among its pristine tracklist.

The Moment of Nightfall is a dreampop sextet that feels like the Eastern answer to San Francisco’s quilted pop enclave. With the band backing him up Ramos weaves a daydream collection that falls between the seams of Galaxie 500, The Pastels, and the calmer end of the Spacemen spectrum. Over shuffling rhythms that feel tumbled down deserted hallways, the band places the listener under a soft-focus spell, sauntering towards whispered choruses and languorous strums. The album retains the delicate touch of the SF crowd, but creeps out of the fog and into the strained sun, not unlike the more current direction of Cindy. The album holds its breath, drags smoke through the teeth and tumbles like ash as it slips to a close. Don’t let the short runtime fool you, this one sticks around and begs for repeat listens.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.