Arthur Moon - Arthur Moon
The debut album from Arthur Moon is everything conventionally beautiful music is but at the same time, a complex kaleidoscope
Arthur Moon is a beautiful piece of work. The debut album from Brooklyn-based artist/composer Lora-Faye Åshuvud is everything conventionally beautiful music is but at the same time, a complex kaleidoscope of artful musings, ideas, and musical shards that defy the preconceived concepts of beauty. Ashuvud goes by the moniker Arthur Moon, and in the 10 tracks on display, she's put together a compelling outing that threads the needle between more recognized indie-pop and electronica and atmospherics. The opening "Too High" is a moment of bliss, complimented by Ashuvud's vocal presence, it's a track that serves up the moments of indie conventionality that keeps the album grounded. But before long, you're taken into more avant-pop territory. From the skittering, beat-laden empowering "Homonormo" to the more abstract soundscapes of "Reverse Conversion Therapy".
You can say Arthur Moon has found influence from an array of artists- undoubtedly you can find traces of Bjork, Thom Yorke, St. Vincent, and (I'm dating myself) Fiona Apple- but her music rests more on the offbeat than the norm. At times her music sound and feel more like art installations than songs; the hauntingly dense and gradual "Myelin" is a perfect example. You can marvel at its beautiful textures- electronic, synthesized- but at the same feel completely at its whim. Her vocals are vital too. Like in "I Feel Better", where its effect-laden vocal work is the centerpiece of the track, accompanied by the lush atmospherics that rarely travels down one straight path. So much of the musical structures are unexpected- the soft piano outro to a provocative electronic track, orchestral coats applied to tracks- and they make for sometimes challenging outings, but always evocative, always eliciting deeper listens.
In tracks like "Infield" and "Wait a Minute", Åshuvud experiments with arrangements that mess with your understanding of what a song is- verse, chorus, verse- but made up of fragments from different instruments and sounds that when collated together, form a picture that says a song doesn't have to sound a certain way to be called a song. The results of Arthur Moon range from the exquisite to the really abstract, twisting and turning your ideas of music with beauty, creativity, and a bravado that challenges music conventions. Some of it is really frenetic, some of it really serene, but it's never boring.
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