Album Review – John Moreland’s “Visitor”
Music might be marked by the presence of sound, but it’s the music of John Moreland that compels the hushing of everything else to allow the quietest and most reflective of moments to prevail.
Music might be marked by the presence of sound, but it’s the music of John Moreland that compels the hushing of everything else to allow the quietest and most reflective of moments to prevail.
Almost six years to the day that they announced their hiatus, The Damn Quails will be returning with a new album called “Clouding Up Your City.” The new album was actually originally announced as a Bryon White solo album, but Gabe Marshall has returned.
Place whatever qualifiers you wish on the estimation of John Moreland as the overlord of all modern songwriters, like his stuff isn’t very commercial, or that sometimes he strains to find a proper melody. But on paper, his lines are pure poetry, putting words to the fears and anxieties that wash over us on a daily basis.
For those fans of songwriting that hits so hard you’re apt to fold in two and end up in a fetal position on the floor, John Moreland has been one of your favorite poisons over the last few years. Those who crave Moreland like a drug had to feel their internal clocks ringing that he was about due for another record.
For 32 consecutive years, bluegrass fans, folkies, country freaks and outcasts, and a cast of other cool characters from the roots realm and beyond have bivouacked at various locations around the Austin area under the heading of the Old Settler’s Music Festival. 2019 was the festival’s second season at the now permanent site.
‘Big Bad Luv’ promises to be a shift in John Moreland’s focus. Where before you could expect some of the most tear-soaked material you could hear in all of roots music, the new album is said to be more sentimental. This should not come as a shock to Moreland fans since he was recently married, and has seen a shift in his personal life.