ISSUE #17
A Change in Diet
by Elliot Moss
Intoxicating, stirring and heavily auto-tuned, 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, he creates hypnotic and deeply emotive electronic music. Today his third LP, A Change in Diet, hits the sonic streets. Take a dive into this smoldering, syrupy world with us.
July 4: The album opener is an ominous half-stepping love that 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.
Off By One: contemplative staccato pads step up and down over suspenseful strings and echoing claps, Moss delivering a somber and mildly hypnotic vocal performance. Lightly overdriven guitars underscore a signature Moss harmony that splits and doubles itself with each repetition. The song fades out, triggering one of my biggest pet peeves in music.
Barricade: This track 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. The beat is insistent if gentle, causing you to sway more deeply than one might imagine from such a feathery piece of music.
Smile in the Rain: Melancholic acoustic guitar is finger plucked in a stark contrast to the mostly electronic production we came to expect on this album. Strings make their second appearance of the LP in a sudden and delicious swirl of color, then fade back into consistency as the guitar splits into complimentary runs. Moss is in his element here, crooning and whispering evocatively. This is a wonderfully stripped-down assemblage that showcases Elliot’s musicianship in a completely new way.
Bodyintoshapes: Immediate dance floor energy seeps from this neatly arranged number. Tip-tapping percussion overscores a delightfully rubbery house bassline and some classic Elliot Moss oscillating synths, frayed and detuned ever so slightly. Some vocal chopping of the chops calls back to Radiohead’s Everything in its Right Place.
Untroubled Mind: A warbling vocal loop opens the track before, soulful and bluesy, Moss comes in hot with a mourning melody that scrapes the sky and dips into rain puddles in equal measure. Dirty guitars snarl for a moment before breaking down into moody pads a la Massive Attack and a smoldering Moss harmony take our breath away. Not even a minute into the song and we’re left speechless. Those nasty guitars return for a more complete display of power as Elliot hypnotizes us the rest of the way. Easily a standout song on a fantastic album.
Rabbit Roads: Thick, syrupy auto-tune greets us as Elliot channels his inner James Blake, his voice venturing alone but for a tinkling bell accompaniment. As the beat drops - a mid-tempo syncopation that gains full clarity with the addition of the bubbling, warping bassline - Moss continues his virtuosic freestyle melodic work, letting his voice fill this barebones track with color and light. The dynamic play between sparse rhythmic elements and complex melody is a treat for the ear, even if the lyrics do get a bit repetitive.
Elliot Moss. Image courtesy of Larimer Lounge.
In the Same Place: A lonesome, detuned guitar repeats a simple melody that haunts more than soothes. Moss’ voice echoes this derelict ambience with a sing-song melody that could be a nursery rhyme. This short track is a stark emotional interlude that adds some welcome space to the album.
Silver + Gold: 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. This was the first single to be released, and is easily our favorite track on the album.
Dogcatcher: Some smooth, silvery instrument opens this mellow track, and eventually emerges as a horn. A flock of auto-tuned Elliots urge a dog on the run to escape the dogcatcher in a heartbreaking confluence of lyric and melody, the horn resolutely swelling and fading as tinkling piano flourishes comes and go like tides. We cry as Moss sings “Run boy, run boy, be lost before you are found.” This track is a bit much following the
A Change in Diner: Atmospheric and full of soft light, the album’s closer features a faint choral section and electronic brush percussion. Moss lets his natural voice shine on this slow track, deep piano chords backing up the elegant harmonies. This is definitely a song to raise your lighter to, and while we hoped the album would wrap up with more of a bang than a whisper, there is undeniable regal beauty in this piece.
Throughout this album we see Moss exploring more acoustic, stripped-down songwriting, letting the human behind the elaborate production shine through more than ever before. While July 4, Untroubled Mind and Silver + Gold are incredibly dark, intricate and charged, the album overall skews towards a more natural and somber sensation. This balance is an admirable achievement, especially considering how cohesive an atmosphere Moss has engendered on his third LP.
A Change in Diet is engaging, dynamic, emotionally charged and a marvel of production knowhow. Give it a few listens and see how deep your ear can go. Thanks for reading.
♥ Zach
Deleter
By Holy Fuck
Deleter is Holy Fuck true-to-form, and at its molten core exists an adrenaline-fueled joyride punctuated with walls of sound and shoegazey goodness.
As I'm listening to Deleter (for the third time this morning) on my bus ride into town, I can't help but think that Toronto-based Holy Fuck has entered 2020 like they fucking own the place, and rightfully so. It's an album that is absolutely overflowing with kinetic energy, and I can't help but want to get up from my seat and start throwing my body up and down the aisle.
Courtesy of Holy Fuck.
From the onset, Luxe sets up a foundation from which the rest of the album builds. Featuring vocals from Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip, Luxe begins as a minimal combination of vocals and arpeggiated synth notes that gradually introduces some percussion, a little bit of bass here and there, and some unidentified source of sound that mimics the thrumming of stringed instruments until it finally evolves into a locomotive engine endlessly charging forward. I'd be impressed if you were able to refrain from moving your body in the slightest.
The rest of the album follows suit. From the smooth bass lines, to abstract instrumentation, melodic vocals, and a possessive drum beat that carries every track on its back, each track is uniquely crafted to keep you moving. Endless is an exception, as it takes a bit of a detour from the previous tracks. Where the rest of the tracks can be defined by their vigor and liveliness (specifically Moment, Free Gloss, and more!), Endless is characterized by drone, crescendos, and drama! It's one of those songs that, if you let it, can induce some heavy (and oftentimes much needed) spacing-out. All good things in life need a little polarity and dynamics, and that’s exactly what Holy Fuck accomplishes here.
But damn, the first time I listened to Free Gloss, I had a religious experience so I want to gush about it a little bit. It's got a powerful beat that grabs your ass and sways your hips back and forth. Haunting vocals combined with the ethereal synths come together to coalesce in the track's interlude and create a dramatic soundscape until the drums kick back and that's when you know the song has had you hooked from the start. It definitely stands as my favorite track of the album and I will fight anyone who disagrees with me (not really, you can do whatever you want).
Please for the love all things good, listen to this album. I can’t think of any better way to kickstart the long weekend.
