Music Albums

Written By: Akhil Sood

“Benediction,” the first single and the opener, aptly sets the mood for what follows, as it shuffles between a rich guitar and violin-driven atmosphere and an uplifting vocal delivery, building up peaks and then retreating casually into serenity. This back and forth continues throughout the album, as Moore builds up intensely surreal soundscapes, setting up lush and blossoming moods armed with layers of acoustic guitar, and strings that are neither intrusive, nor in the background. In fact, there are even passages of psychedelia here. And just as the elaborate and sprawling setting begins to overpower, he brings the song back to reality with delicate melodies; almost dreamlike. “Orchard Street,” at close to seven minutes, showcases Moore’s startling talent on the guitar and at songwriting as the instrumental sections and the chorus bits take turns to envelop the world around with a wall of sound almost cinematic in nature, with just a sprinkling of Sonic Youth thrown in for good measure.

The songs are largely devoid of any coherent structures, with only the constant back and forth uniting the songs into an articulate experience. It seems as if Moore is trying his best to fuse his remarkable approach to guitar-playing with Thurston Moore the Singer. He falters every now and then, as anyone would, as bits and pieces appear hard to relate to – what with Moore’s otherworldly and avant-garde approach to everything. But he brings back the emotional connection almost immediately after his forays of self-indulgence, with “Blood Never Lies,” probably the highlight of the album, settling into a fantastical and whimsical landscape for two whole minutes, before just the tip of an enchanting and seductive vocal melody appears, only to return once again to the strangely-serene bedlam in Moore’s head. But eventually the song returns to the triumphant chorus, departing on an epic note at exactly the right time. His deep voice alone lends the song an orchestral aura; it’s hard to explain.

The richly textured arrangement and the splendid and lush imagery of the album alone would have been enough to make it near-perfect, but added to that lies a mature approach to sculpting a song as an experience, and an ability to stuff all this into an actual melodic song, making this album almost a modern day masterpiece. And even though there’s no noise here – the album is calming and uplifting more than anything else – the rawness of the playing and the tones more than make up for it. The real question is – What next, Thurston?

4.5/5

Author Profile: Akhil Sood

This author has published 8 articles so far. More info about the author is coming soon.