Celestial, ethereal , bestial and brutal, woven with beauty and darker mysteries, you need a tapestry of adjectives to describe the music of Maud the moth. The project of Spanish-born / Scotland-based pianist and singer-songwriter Amaya López-Carromero, each Maud the moth album has been unapologetically ambitious but not at the expense of connectivity. Her songs speak out and you listen.
Following her debut ‘Inner Wastelands’, 2020’s acclaimed ‘Orphnē’ was a stunning collection of sonic murals, their gothic and surreal imagery entwined within adventurous avant-pop arrangements. Her last recording ‘Bordando el manto Terrestre’, a collaboration with dark ambient synthesists trajedesaliva, was similarly shrouded in otherworldly atmospheres, adding to Maud the moth’s growing reputation for innovative music making. Here was an artist as intense as Keeley Forsyth, as singular as Joanna Newsom and as dramatic as Diamanda Galas.
Now comes news of the fourth Maud the moth statement in the shape of ‘The Distaff’ due release in various formats on 21st February next year. Written originally as a set of piano/voice songs, the fabric of each of the nine tracks has been developed to include other musicians including Alison Chesley on cello, the great Seb Rochford drumming and co-producer Scott McLean on guitars and more. So a return to the group dynamism of ‘Orphnē’ to voice the dark reflections on loss and trauma that Maud the moth seeks to explore this latest project.
Preview track ‘Siphonophores’, with accompanying visualisation by film-maker Elena Brea, captures the expansiveness and the emotional tension we can expect. An operetta set in song, López-Carromero’s thrilling soprano yearns, gliding over the cymbal splashes and scratchy harmonics. Piercing through the cathartic crescendo you’re left alongside a stark electronic throb, wondering what next…’The Distaff’ will answer soon.
Pre-order your copy of ‘The Distaff‘ by Maud the moth from your local record store or direct from Bandcamp in all formats HERE
