Staff Reviews

The Moondoggies - Tidelands

Review by Els

There's no kink to be found here – Tidelands is straightforward Americana, conventional from the get-go. »

Buy now from:

the ten selections that comprise 'tidelands' embrace a wider range of timbres and dynamics than moondoggies' 2008 debut, 'don't be a stranger'. stylistically, this sophomore set is a strong creative leap forward for the young band. there are selections 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 fervour with impassioned blasts of organ, then reeling back in quiet reflection. tunes written almost exclusively by the band's murphy are juxtaposed with those born from long sessions improvising with his bandmates: 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. though they sprang from seattle's vibrant roots music scene, moondoggies are a band schooled in much more than the common touchstones of the current americana movement; there are no intentions of treading water stylistically here. it's precisely this creative stretching that has resulted in the bands most artistic step forward to date: 'tidelands'
description from www.amazon.co.uk