New York – Alt-country maverick Crow Moses is barreling back into view after a release respite, and this Chicagoan soloist’s sophomore effort is a Zen-inducing indie treasure. Horse Heaven Hills is slated to surface as an independent release on September 9 and, with but a week before we break the seal on this record, now is the time to get eager for what’s on the horizon.
Gary Louris of the Jayhawks took the production reigns on the forthcoming compilation, after the two established a friendship authentically based on shared artistic vision. Of the writing proses, Moses said, “Half the songs were written on the road and half were written in the studio, I like the pressure.”
Clearly, Moses’ boiler plate penchant paid off, because the 12-track record is a wind-swept wonder that calls to mind endless expanses of sky and sun-burnt, sprawling dustbowl landscapes. Full of heartache, longing and revelation, Horse Heaven Hills is the ideal album to compliment the ushering in of autumn.
In a previous life, and under the moniker Musikanto, Moses released Ghost Pain (2008). Musikanto: Sky of Dresses surfaced next in 2011, Moses’ debut record under his current title. And now, Horse Heaven Hills stands poised to seduce audiences like never before.
The record opens on “Blame The River,” a true-bluegrass track with a dark-brewed edge of acoustic, cathartic guitar work. Sweet and simple, the record’s opener will captivate naturalists with its organic imagery and clean melodies. Next comes “Mad Horses,” arguably the album’s strongest track. With Mumford and Sons’ caliber strumming, “Mad Horses” builds to an Americana climax that’s fit to soundtrack the open road as well as a late night, solitary session of introspection.
The title track takes the third-slot stronghold. “Horse Heaven Hills” is graced with calmly swirling melodies, gently peppered piano chords and a steady base drum heartbeat. This is an apt choice to represent the album in full, as it encapsulates a soothing sense of willed detachment, understated passion and deliberate solipsism.
One last outlier on this album crucial of critical reflection is “Water Mains.” This jam ventures deeply down the country genre trail, but doesn’t harp too heavily on the twang that’s nascent in this area. Instead, Moses infuses the track with solid guitar riffs and seamless vocals that smooth over any trace of genre-specific reliance. Closing with “Alone With Me,” Moses similarly strays into a vital drum and piano concoction that pits the record, like an entrancing outcast, on the outskirts of categorical specificity.
Nature and the wildness of wandering extrinsically inform Horse Heaven Hills at large. Like skip-hopping trains from one coast to the next, Moses invites us on a downbeat, enlightened journey that ventures closer to the core of personhood than most musicians realistically achieve.
Moses is currently on tour, with four dates scheduled in the Midwest exclusively. Beyond that, fans are in the dark as to what’s to come next. But Horse Heaven Hill is a comforting companion to soundtrack the wait time and, as we wait, head to Moses’ Soundcloud to hear the recorded magic to date. Next, ready all playlists to be infiltrated by Moses’ new tracks when they explode for collective consumption on the 9th.
Liz Rowley
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