Moons in Retrograde releases debut album

Based in Flensburg, North Germany, Moons in Retrograde is the Nightmare Trip-Pop / Dark Alt-Electro Hyperpop project of US-born musician and multimedia performance artist, Kara Kuckoo. The debut album, The Third Side of the Coin, has just been released. Described as “an album in two parts” or “double EP”, one side of the album is titled Anima, and the other, Animus. Kara Kuckoo explains:

“The Third Side of the Coin is about the natural, dualistic state of the universe. The double EP explores both sides of a polarized world by peering over the precipice of the coin only to see a reflection staring back from the other side. It is a surreal mirror showing that what you fear and what you hate is living within the unconscious parts of yourself, both sides being parts of a whole. As you look into the familiar and uncomfortable reflection the coin spins, dissolving duality and revealing a clear image of the third side. The magic is in the middle!”

Performing as Moons in Retrograde since 2022, Kara Kuckoo is not only a musician but a theatrical multimedia installation artist, using costuming, staging, body-paint, dance, film and other media to create the dark and unsettling atmosphere of her online videos and unique performances. Citing vast-ranging references to everyone from Heilung, IAMX, NIN, and The Birthday Massacre, Kara goes on to say:

“Moons in Retrograde is about digging up and reflecting on buried emotions. Just like the moon, everyone and everything has a dark side and MIR dives into the dualistic nature of the universe and explores the tension of these two opposing forces. The music plays a tug of war between the perfection of universal chaos, the violent nature of life and an idealistic desire to bridge the growing gap in our polarized society. MIR weaves a soundscape which shines a light into the deepest corners of the mind and exposes the truth about the dark side of humanity while simultaneously discovering the core of the human soul.”

In the US, Kara’s previous music projects included prominent dark electro-industrial rock band In Winter, formed in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio in 2003. Quickly becoming local favourites in the dark alternative scene, In Winter opened for The Birthday Massacre, Wednesday 13, The Genitorturers and others, and released one album, Murmur, in 2005, before Kara left the group the following year. She next embarked on the All Hamerican Tour (2006) as a backing vocalist with <PIG>, before relocating to Las Vegas, Nevada. In Vegas, Kara and MC / producer Kielen King formed the dark trip-hop / ambient / downtempo duo, Azure Noir in 2007. Officially, Azure Noir disbanded in 2009 when Kara moved to Germany. However, Kara and King have continued to collaborate, with singles being released in 2010 and 2012, and murmurs about releasing new music together in the near future.

The Third Side of the Coin, the debut album from Moons in Retrograde, features the popular video-singles ‘Mirror Obscura’ and ‘The Rotten Tree’, and is out 25 November 2025. The album is released on vinyl LP and digital download formats from Bandcamp and the artist’s online store, and streaming from Spotify and all the usual outlets. Please note that physical vinyl orders have been temporarily delayed shipping from the manufacturer.