Keith Moss has a couple of fine EP releases to his credit. Now, his debut album showcases a singularly intense artist – quirky and experimental but possessing a winning way with memorable melodies and some off-kilter twists and turns. He covers a lot of ground over these ten tracks, neatly divided between Side 1 and Side 2 in classic LP style. Moss is hard to pin down stylistically as he veers from folk to jangle pop to electronica and sundry other genres in between, with a melancholic air running through most of his lyrics.
The blissed-out psychedelic textures of ‘Under The Sun’s Light’ recall early Pink Floyd, The Zombies and Traffic, while the acoustic ‘Fat Men Have To Eat’ offers a commentary on corporate greed, and demonstrates a satirical, Randy Newman-esque streak. The shadow of Nick Drake looms large over the misty, pastoral folk of ‘Hazy Thoughts On Foggy Walks’, while in stark contrast, the upbeat, jangly, poppy ‘The War Outside Our Door’, which takes aim at teenage binge-drinking culture, is the nearest thing to a radio-friendly tune.
Elsewhere, ‘Maybe It’s Me’ – a sombre ballad performed at a funereal pace – comes across as something of a work-in-progress, while ‘The Girl With The Wand At The End of The Pier’ offers more ethereal atmospheric textures. The reverb-laden, spacey ‘Now You’re Nowhere’ is the most beguiling creation here, offering as it does a compelling melody, mixed with otherworldly blips and beats, all topped off with some unsettling lyrics. The final track, the ‘80s electro-pop influenced ’Sing To Be Saved’, is more conventional and wouldn’t sound out of place on a Depeche Mode or Tears For Fears album. A rewarding listen.