ISSUE #12
Silver + Gold
Elliot Moss
Intoxicating, stirring and heavily auto-tuned, Elliot Moss is an artist I forget about often but am always overjoyed to remember. Don’t let this discourage you from seeing what he’s all about - he releases music slowly, but each track is a gem that will mesmerize and move you.
This young multi-instrumentalist/producer has been active in New York since 2014, combining a beautifully sorrowful voice with thick layers of melting, buzzing synths to create hypnotic and deeply emotive electronic music. Elliot Moss inhabits a niche subgenre I struggle to define but absolutely adore, sharing a sound with James Blake and Bearcubs. Complex vocal arrangements accompany simple but undeniably well-produced instrumentals. Minimal but deeply-felt percussion and absorbing, emotional songwriting create an atmosphere like rumbling storm clouds on the brink of an emotional downpour.
Moss’ latest single, Silver + Gold is no exception.
If you enjoyed that, go listen to its sister singles. July 4 is an ominous half-stepping love song spirals manically between beauty and tragedy. Moss expertly layers skeletal drums, rewound synths, a lone acoustic guitar and a chopped digital chorus to build a glitched-out ray of sunshine bursting through a storm of crackling ennui. Barricade hits more softly, a shimmering lament astride delicate crystalline vocal lines. A tender warmth infuses the space between notes as multiple octaves of Elliot overlap in their desire.
Elliot’s new album A Change in Diet arrives January 17th and I. Cannot. Wait. Everything the man touches turns to… well.
Give Silver + Gold some love online and keep your ears peeled for big things from this up-and-comer. Thanks for reading and as always, happy NMF.
♥ Zach
