Daniel Caesar is back with the third single from his forthcoming album, Son of Spergy. His latest offering is “Moon,” the first of two tracks on the album to feature Bon Iver. The track sees him in complete “yearner” mode, with lyrics primarily about a woman but also speaks to themes of self-doubt and isolation.
Caesar’s lyrics are not necessarily difficult to follow, but they do always require a couple of listens before you really understand his intent. “I’d rather fight for you / The only way I know that is sustainable,” he opens the second verse. It ends with him asking who will “be [his] Jesus,” looking for advocates and people who’ll be in his corner. Clearly, it cannot be the woman who this song is aimed at.
“Have A Baby (With Me)” felt a lot more like a Frank Ocean song in terms of its sound. “Call On Me” came with 2000s indie rock elements while still broadly maintaining Caesar’s usual vocal aesthetics. “Moon” is a stunning track, almost coming off as his attempt at an earlier Bon Iver track, with some additional inspiration from other acts that came up at the same time as Justin Vernon.
As for Vernon himself, he does not have particularly noticeable contributions to the track in the beginning, but his appearance becomes more prominent with the backing vocals he provides in the final minute. Overall, everything on this song works harmoniously and it will be interesting to hear what the rest of this album sounds like. Son of Spergy drops on October 24. You can check out “Moon” below.
Daniel Caesar & Bon Iver – “Moon”
Why are you a weapon formed up against me?
Is this what you call love?
Someday I will leave your homе
Be a man, I’ll make my own
And I’ll set this wood on firе, you can’t stop me
There I will rest my bones