Photo credit: Ulysses Ortega
Art Moore – a trio made up of Taylor Vick (also known as Boy Scouts) and Ezra Furman collaborators Sam Durkes and Trevor Brooks – release their self-titled album full of bittersweet tales of love, loss and human connection. Their songs focus on various characters, including jilted friends and restless widows, as they examine emotional complexities and embark on road trips, casual dates and so much more…
The opening ‘Muscle Memory’ is a short and breezy burst of sadpop with twinkly emo tendencies in the background that draw you into the band’s sound. After coming to an all-too-abrupt finish, it segues into ‘Sixish’ which has slacker pop vibes mixed in with an air of inevitability: ‘There’s really nothing more’. ‘Snowy’ reminded us of ‘Digital Ash’-era Bright Eyes as Taylor recalls nights spent ‘Sleeping at the Comfort Inn’ before ‘Bell’ takes the record in a waltz-inspired direction with bursts of M. Ward-style guitar: ‘It’s a quarter to 3, you’ve got some place to be’.
‘A Different Life’ continues in this vein as the band look to the future for more optimistic times: ‘In the distance, as far as I can see, still pushing through different versions of me’; ‘Still reaching for a dream’. ‘Rewind’ has a sweet sound that mask the biting lyrics – ‘You’re somebody’s fool’; ‘I’m breathing in smoke ’cause life is a joke’ – while ‘Habit’ has more of an anthemic and heartfelt/heartbreaking sound in the vein of Stars: ‘You’re taking the back roads, always taking the back roads’.
As the album draws to its close, ‘Something Holy’ slows things down with an examination of how second-guessing someone’s thoughts and actions can affect your mindset before the acoustic-led ‘Inspiration and Fun’ winds things up with poignant and personal lines that show the power of instant connection: ‘Haven’t known you very long, but I can tell you what you want – inspiration and some fun’.
Art Moore’s debut album is one that examines the complexities of human life and all its emotions with aplomb, showing how surviving and thriving when making connections with others can be a wonderful – and important – thing.
