[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJoWK8B-XNI[/youtube]
Jacob Morris, an Athenian singer-songwriter, creates a gentle and heartfelt debut with Moths. Due to his collaborations with many other artists (including Patterson Hood), he hardly sounds like an amateur. His sound is mature, yet playful at times. The album consists of ten songs that are divided between melancholy ballads and chipper, lively tracks.
The third track off Moths, “Spider,” lies in the first category. The song feels like a mysterious, wistful wander through the woods. There are normal objects on your path, but beneath it all, there lies an underlying cryptic energy. Morris sings, “The moon is gone; it’s gone tonight.” As the narrator is left moon-less, we are also left in the dark. Yet, this darkness feels oddly welcoming. The lovely and enigmatic nature of the song stems from Morris’s eerie, yet comforting vocals.
While Morris’s sound is not the most unique sound out there, he does a truly great job of standing his ground within the grand genre of male singer-songwriters. I hope to see him playing around Athens very soon.
-Dafna Kaufman