Skip to main content

Arc Iris - Moon Saloon

Arc Iris returns to Philly this Wednesday, at Boot & Saddle with friends Superhuman Happiness and Birdie Busch.  To catch you up to speed, here's a little review of Moon Saloon to get you excited about the show.
 



If a well crafted album is meant to be a journey and an exploration, Arc Iris' Moon Saloon manages to accomplish both for its musicians and listeners.

Opening with a simple four-tap count-off from a gently gated hi-hat, "Kaleidoscope" kicks Moon Saloon off with Ray Belli (drums) and Zach Tenorio-Miller (keys) digging into a syncopated boom bap groove as Robin Ryczek (cello) surges in with her own sonic undertow. With a single, shimmering guitar chord, Jocie Adams is introduced as the narrator. Her lyrical foundation is paved with questions and reflections. As the track pushes forward, the original lines are spliced with slight variations and embellishments as a larger form takes shape. The track grows exponentially as single-line melodies and riffs erupt into soaring choral breaks. As the crescendo fades, a punchy, scattered ending reminds us not to get too comfortable...there’s more to come.

Splashed throughout the tracks of this album are vocal and instrumental bursts that possibly began as impulsive utterances and were then crafted into cathartic, joyously expressive moments. "Kingdom Come" presents a taste of this and captures the spontaneity of their musically playful side. In contrast, "Paint with the Sun" and "She Arose" serve as excellent reminders that Arc Iris isn’t messing around. At the appropriate time and place, they can throw in the kitchen sink with musically spectacular fashion.

The ideas and sounds crafted into the rest of the album, described as “dream-folk” by NPR, display a compositional creativity and musical growth for Adams’ that extends galaxies beyond her previously designated role in The Low Anthem. There is tremendous teamwork and musicianship that proves Arc Iris has arrived. Jocie, Zach, Ray and Robin achieved this by inviting their tremendously talented friends, Mike Irwin (trumpet), Charlie Rose (pedal steel. banjo) and many others to join them in front of and behind the microphones to help create something beautiful. Moon Saloon is the culmination of relentless touring and sculpting their sonic identity, along with growing in front of their fans and friends. With the album ready and released, we can now walk away from an Arc Iris show with an album that matches the intensity of what we just saw. It has happened just in time.



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

New Release Q&A - Sonja Sofya answers some questions for "Patterns We Know"

The buzz has been all about Sonja Sofya and her new album The Patterns We Know .  Tonight Sonja Sofya and band take to the stage at Boot & Saddle in South Philly along with a great line-up featuring Arc Divers and the dove and the wolf. Right off the top we have some great reasons to expect great things from this album, such as produced by Ross Bellenoit at Turtle Studios and excellent musicianship by guitarist/producer Ross Bellenoit, bassist Jonathan Colman , and drummers Matt Scarano and Jonas Oesterle . But we at Root Down In The Shadow wanted to dig further and see what Sonja had to say about the album. Here's 3 questions we had for the songstress Sonja Sofya: RDITS: What was the impetus to make a full length record and why did you pick the people you worked with? At a certain point, playing and writing as much as I was, it felt like the logical next step, but I waited for a while, trying to find the "perfect" time to go into the stud...

New Chris Kasper single - City By the Sea

Here's a wonderfully bluesy tease to the upcoming Chris Kasper album.   New single "City By The Sea", is just enough to keep fans from getting restless, while he tours with Carsie Blanton along the West Coast.  Hopefully there will be some local dates soon, as 2017 seems so far off right now. City by the Sea by Chris Kasper

Bandade Presents: the dove & the wolf and Dirty Dollhouse

Bandade Music is very aware of the power of music in our lives. Formed in Nashville in 2015 and now located in Philadelphia, Bandade works to build community, raise awareness, and fight cancer through music. So far, they’ve had support from Alabama Shakes , Jason Isbell , Florence Welch , Sam Beam of Iron and Wine , and more; and since their move to Philadelphia, local artists are playing a major role in the Bandade community, helping to raise funds to fight cancer, and transforming an ordinary Wednesday night into an opportunity to be part of a larger purpose. Last month, Philly artists the dove & the wolf and Dirty Dollhouse highlighted the most recent Bandade benefit, and Root Down in the Shadow was there. Learn more about Bandade and see their calendar of upcoming shows at MyBandadeMusic.com . the dove & the wolf the dove and the wolf - photo by Dan McGurk Upon first listen, Paris turned Philly expats the dove & the wolf stir something gloriously familiar...