“Utopia 90” - Moon Cub
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
Take a deep breath and picture this: you're on a long, slow train ride. Maybe it's raining outside, maybe it's golden hour, and you're half-lost in thought, half-lost in memories. That's exactly the headspace Nottingham-based duo Moon Cub conjure with their debut single “Utopia 90” — a lush, shimmering slice of trip hop/indie electronica that feels like it was pulled straight out of a daydream... or maybe a long-lost MTV2 summer from 1998.
Moon Cub is the lovechild of real-life couple and musical collaborators Rob and Suzy Muir, and it shows — not just in the synergy between the production and vocals, but in the emotional intimacy of the whole track. There’s something inherently personal about this project, and “Utopia 90” feels like a shared memory set to music.
Rob Muir’s production is feather-light but full of texture — think Boards of Canada’s woozy nostalgia meets the hazy layers of Air or The Album Leaf. There's warmth in the pads, crispness in the beat, and then, just when you think you’ve got it figured out, Pete Norman’s saxophone floats in like a sleepy breeze from another dimension. It doesn’t try too hard to impress — it just melts into your ears and stays there.
Then there’s Suzy Muir’s vocal. Delicate, a little wistful, and packed with that feeling of yearning that only surfaces when you’re staring out of a window thinking about how life used to feel when you were thirteen, burning CDs and making dream collages out of magazines. Her lyrics evoke that specific, almost tactile feeling of 90s optimism — the possibility that used to hum quietly in the background of life before adulthood kicked in.
“Utopia 90” doesn’t just reference the past — it embodies it. It’s not about nostalgia for the sake of retro aesthetics, but about that emotional muscle memory we all carry. The track captures what it felt like to be alive in that era — hopeful, dreamy, slightly melancholic, but open to magic.
Suzy and Rob aren’t just bringing their individual strengths to the table, they’re fusing them in a way that makes the music feel alive. This is what happens when two creative minds, deeply in sync, decide to make something just for the joy of it. And that joy, that shared vision, absolutely radiates from every note.
"Utopia 90" is like a sonic postcard from a parallel universe where Portishead and The Postal Service collaborated on a beach in Cornwall while staring at old camcorder footage from 1997. It’s moody but warm, retro but current, sad but hopeful. A perfect soundtrack for your next daydream or late-night drive.
With a debut album (Skyline Waiting Room) on the horizon, Moon Cub are clearly just getting started. But if this is the vibe they’re setting out with, we’re definitely here for the whole ride.
“Utopia 90” is available now on all major streaming platforms
Photo Credit: Artist EPK
