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Moth Man — Where the Dead Birds Go
(Bandcamp Billywitch , 2021, CD / DL)

by Henry Schneider, Published 2021-04-24

Where the Dead Birds Go Cover art

Moth Man is an English band fom Manchester that formed in 2016. Band members have pretty much played together their entire adult lives in various bands, and coming together gave them the focus to write and release their debut album, Where the Dead Birds Go, in March 2021. Moth Man is Simon Findlay (vocals and acoustic guitar), Gary Boyling (drums and percussion), Steve Thompson (bass and keyboards), Simon Cullen (acoustic and electric guitars), and Elysia Lake (backing vocal). You can probably guess from the album title the nature of the music contained herein. Where the Dead Birds Go is a set of dark gothic acid folk songs enhanced by Simon Findlay’s sad, deadpan baritone. However, the album is not all doom and gloom. After the album opens with the sad late night acid folk of “Candelit,” Moth Man treats us to “Nutter,” a folk pop love song with tons of emotional strings that hook you into the music. However, “Nails” does take you down the dark road and suicidal thoughts of a cutter. “Sharpening the razor blades, make another cut for love.” The song is the emotional nadir of the album. Bringing the listener back are Elysia’s backing vocals, a wonderful counterpoint to Findlay. One of my favorite songs is the Americana-influenced “Train,” a fun, upbeat song with banjo and drums. The closing track, “Moth Man,” is the most acoustic of all with bird song, acoustic guitar, and hand clap rhythm. Where the Dead Birds Go is an excellent debut and nothing at all what you would expect from a British band.

Filed under: New releases, 2021 releases

Related artist(s): Moth Man

More info
http://megadodo.bandcamp.com/album/where-the-dead-birds-go

 

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