THE MOONDOGGIES
'TIDELANDS'
Album released: January 31st 2011
Hardly Art / SUB POP
Free Download of IT'S A SHAME HERE
Album Stream on The Moondoggies Facebook page HERE
Watch the video for EMPRESS OF THE NORTH after the jump...
There is something inherently calming about large bodies of water. In times of emotional duress, standing at the edge of an ocean watching the waves roll in and out, centres the spirit in a way that standing on terra firma cannot. Kevin Murphy (lead vocals, guitar) chose to title the Moondoggies’ new album Tidelands in part because of a remote area outside his old stomping grounds of Ketchikan, Alaska where he used to go to escape from civilization. More importantly, as the sly recurring themes of water throughout the Seattle quartet’s new album underscore, these are songs crafted to provide solace, sense, and cause for celebration in a world fraught with turmoil.
With echoes of The Band, Crazy Horse, Crosby Stills & Nash as well as contemporaries and fellow countrymen, Blitzen Trapper and Fleet Foxes, full-throated vocal harmonies are central to the band’s sound. But the ten selections that comprise Tidelands embrace a wide range of timbres and dynamics. There are songs fashioned from little more than hushed acoustic guitar and vocals (the haunting “A Lot of People On My Mind”), and others—like the robust “What Took So Long”—that rise and fall and accumulate momentum, veering towards gospel fervor with impassioned blasts of organ, then reeling back in quiet reflection. Tunes written almost exclusively by Murphy are juxtaposed with those born from long sessions improvising with his band mates: drummer Carl Dahlen, keyboard player Caleb Quick, and bassist Robert Terreberry. There are numbers that were composed at home in Seattle, alongside others created during Murphy’s isolation in Alaska (“Empress of the North”). “Lead Me On,” featuring violin by Seth Warren of the Maldives, sprang from the union of two different songs by Kevin and Carl. Further enriching the album’s sonic palette are pedal steel performances by another member of the Maldives, Chris Zasche.
The album was produced and recorded by the band and Erik Blood with additional production input from Seattle stalwarts Phil Ek and Kurt Bloch. The quartet experimented and took risks during this process: multiple reads on the same song were tried, with various vocal and instrumental arrangements taken up and abandoned until the right balance was struck. The result is Tidelands.
Tracklisting:
1. It’s A Shame, It’s A Pity 2. Tidelands 3. What Took So Long 4. Uncertain 5. Empress Of The North
6. Lead Me On 7. Down The Well 8. Can’t Be In The Middle 9. We Can’t All Be Blessed 10. A Lot Of People On My Mind
[ All Songs by The Moondoggies ]
THE MOONDOGGIES: Kevin Murphy – Guitar, Vocals / Carl Dahlen – Drums, Vocals / Caleb Quick – Keys, Vocals / Bob Terreberry – Bass, Vocals
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