Michael Mueller
Jessica Moss has created a sublime work that combines a classical modality with sense of ambient tonality and depth.
This is deeply felt music that resonates both instrumentally and emotionally.
The vocal elements add an extra dimension to the work; a humanising vulnerability, juxtaposed against the cathedral-like space of the layering of strings. Prayerful. Spiritual. Haunted.
Such a stately, evocative release.
Gorecki would be impressed.
Favorite track: Particles.
Jessica Moss has been blossoming as a solo artist since the release of her acclaimed debut album Pools Of Light in spring 2017. The violinist, composer and singer best known for her fifteen-year tenure in political post-punk band Thee Silver Mt. Zion is newly ascendant as a soloist, captivating audiences with gritty, warmly expressive electronic- and drone-inflected post-classical Minimalism (and sometimes Maximalism), accented by a distinctive melodic sensibility that channels Klezmer, Balkan and Middle Eastern tropes. Moss has played 80 shows in the past year, including appearances at Big Ears, WSO New Music, Le Guess Who?, Zemlika and Supersonic, participation in multiple editions of Basilica Hudson’s 24-Hour Drone Fest, and a mix of headlining dates and opening slots for the likes of Zu, BIG|BRAVE (on whose most recent album she also plays), and labelmates Godspeed You! Black Emperor.
On Entanglement, her new and second album, Moss channels quantum theory as a metaphor for creating energetic connections through esoteric processes. Using violin (and occasionally, voice) as sound source, her compositions are set in motion like entangled particles – spinning, ricocheting, warping and stretching in extra-dimensional space. “Particles”, the magnificent 22-minute opus on Side One, is a stunning transmission of cosmos-level wonder, mystery and dread. Conjuring up sound as if from dark energy, the piece gradually humanises the void as a circling string theme develops then retracts to a single note, stretches space-time through a slowly developing drone, and clears a haunted celestial expanse for Moss to introduce hushed, keening vocal lines that layer one upon the other. “Fractals” on Side Two is a work in four parts that unspools through various iterations of folk-inflected phrases, played on amplified violin, sampled in real-time, and redeployed in entwined pairings, echoes and cascades. Here, Moss wields the violin with a narrative intent perhaps more commonly associated with solo horn in the jazz tradition – the power of the single melodic line, the instrument as expressive analogue to human speech and voice.
Profoundly informed by the experiences of travelling alone – playing in precarious spaces preserved by passionate subcultural communities, attempting fragile, intimate, abstract transmissions through sound and performance – Moss’s new music on Entanglement invokes the striving for communication/connection in isolation, the mysterious energies that bind the singular and the universal, and the indomitably terrestrial energies that bring micro-communities of people together to partake sustainably and attentively in human-scale shared experiences. This is long-attention-span music that wonderfully synthesises form and substance, spit and polish, austerity and lushness, expansiveness and intimacy. Entanglement is a deeply felt and deeply rewarding work that testifies to the unique stylistic and textural space Moss is carving out in the contemporary/New Music continuum. Thanks for listening.
200 WORD VERSION
Jessica Moss, the violinist, composer and singer best known for her fifteen-year tenure in political post-punk band Thee Silver Mt. Zion, is newly ascendant as a soloist, captivating audiences with gritty, warmly expressive electronic- and drone-inflected post-classical Minimalism (and sometimes Maximalism), accented by a distinctive melodic sensibility that channels Klezmer, Balkan and Middle Eastern tropes. On Entanglement, her new and second album, Moss channels quantum theory as a metaphor for creating energetic connections through esoteric processes. Using violin (and occasionally, voice) as sound source, her compositions are set in motion like entangled particles – spinning, ricocheting, warping and stretching in extra-dimensional space. Moss has played 80 shows in the past year and Entanglement is also profoundly informed by her experiences travelling alone, giving concerts in precarious spaces preserved by passionate subcultural communities, attempting fragile, intimate, abstract transmissions through sound and performance. This is long-attention-span music that wonderfully synthesizes form and substance, spit and polish, austerity and lushness, expansiveness and intimacy. Entanglement is a deeply felt and deeply rewarding work that testifies to the unique stylistic and textural space Moss is carving out in the contemporary/New Music continuum.
This album is a change, not a degradation. The composition style on this only somewhat follows the usual GBY!BE formula. It is more subtle this time, with good effect. This is famously panned by such critics as Anthony Fantano for this reason only. Of course, listen first before you buy. But listen to it for itself and without preconceptions. Then it makes sense. All that having been said, the material is even more impactful live. Go see a live show first is my advice. paulrichardbishop
Augustin Hadelich’s take on Lang’s “mystery sonatas” is tender and quiet, putting full focus on the mournful melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 23, 2018
Rachel Grimes brings the same knack for gorgeous moodiness she developed in Rachel’s to this moving, beautiful score. Bandcamp New & Notable Mar 26, 2018
Oh her first full-length for One Little Indian, the classically trained pianist has her unique virtuosity on full display. Bandcamp New & Notable Feb 1, 2018
