Insight & Critique
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact

Mother Moses - slow the fire

12/23/2014

0 Comments

 
Picture
Mother Moses

Slow The Fire
self-released; 2014

3.7 out of 5

By B Parker

Mother Moses is a four-piece folk-rock band that leans heavily on the acoustic side of things. While the cover of Slow the Fire is strange (and just a tad unnerving, in my opinion), the music is both inviting and inventive. The building blocks of Mother Moses are fingerpicked strings, harmonized vocal melodies, and the usual drum and bass rounding out the sound.

Slow the Fire is a collection of slow rustic songs. There are times when songs pick up and gallop, but for the most part the percussion plays a minimal role in crafting the songs overall, save for a few instances where things sort of break into quick fills (like in the second half of “Cage Door Swinging”). The more optimistic tunes use this trick effectively, making the songs crash out of their usual subdued states. The most emphasis lies in the vocals. 

Singing duties are split between frontman and songwriter Jon Cox and Ellen Shultz (and occasionally bassist Steve Bunce). Treating the songs like duets, the airy voice of Shultz is an important part of Mother Moses' identity. There's a danger to acoustic acts, where you can't do much to change the tone of your instruments, of sounding hollow. There's a quality to her voice, a faintness that supports Cox's rougher, sometimes sharp performance in a way that makes the makes the entire band sound more full. 

When the mood calls for panic or desperation the two change gears and rise above everything else, not quite shouting but getting the emotion across just the same. The title track does this in waves, alternating its verses between calm and panic. The crowning moment comes with “The Eyes of Some” when the duo hit the last chorus and reverse their roles: Shultz takes lead, delivering a dramatic performance, while Cox is in the back with a different set of lines. It's here where the differences between the two are best on display. 

Cox's lyrics caught me right away. In the grand folk tradition they're grounded in realism and many of the images he falls back on come from nature. What impresses me is how he can approach a grim subject without going overboard. There's a fair amount of focus put on morality and mortality here, some of it in passing moments. But the songs carry on, rarely losing sight of the overall upbeat atmosphere of the album. It's romanticized in some respects but not so much that it loses its impact. Lines like “what will my ghost say when it's trapped?” (from “Bones and Skin”), “hell is no more than heaven's basement” (from “A Borrowed Window”) and “we are shadows in the sun” (from “Shadows Only Sun”) choose to hint at unease rather than dwell on it. Because of this the ideas feel more real, less like something written to fit a meter and more like someone actually expressing their ideas.

Slow the Fire takes a traditional sound and pairs it with unique writing. There's a lot on display regardless of whether you're in it for the music, the stories, or both.
official website
Tweet
0 Comments

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

       Critique/insight

    We are dedicated to informing the public about the different types of independent  music that is available for your listening pleasure as well as giving the artist a professional critique from a seasoned music geek. We critique a wide variety of niche genres like experimental, IDM, electronic, ambient, shoegaze and much more.

    Tweets by divideanconqer
    Are you one of our faithful visitors who enjoys our website? Like us on Facebook


    Archives

    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012

Company

About
Contributors

Newsletter

Newsletter
Book Your Band

© Divide and Conquer 2021. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • DAC
  • Indie Music Album Reviews
  • About
  • Submissions
  • Top albums
  • Features
  • Contact