ARTIST BIO:
The VIKING MOSES was initiated by Southern Missourian Brendon Massei in 2003. The band has a dynamic, rotating cast of both established and obscure musicians worldwide, and is currently based in Northern Appalachia (USA).
More strait forward rock/soul than weird/folk as most of their contemporaries seem to be marketed, Viking Moses’ recordings are very accessible in convention, though live shows normally tend to have an unconventional approach, being hosted in unorthodox venues, often having assembled bands night-of, using members of support bands or strangers in the audience. Both aspects are delivered with utmost soul, passion, and humility, and always offer fans and strangers an experience which is unique and often contrary to expectation.
Viking Moses has been finding very fair attention since 2004, thanks to Devendra Banhart's "Golden Apples." compilation and good words, followed by a signing by Alan McGee (Creation Records founder, and manager of Oasis, Jesus & Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Teenage Fanclub, Mogwai, Libertines, etc.) which has found Viking Moses high acclaim in UK and Europe, and kept them heavily active in that part of the world these past few years. ---
ALBUM DESCRIPTION:
“THE PARTS THAT SHOWED” is the sophomore album release by the Viking Moses, recorded on the Oldham family farm in central Kentucky by Paul Oldham, featuring the talent of Spencer Kingman (of Spenking), John McCauley III (of Deer Tick), Cody Brant and Jacob Soto (of Flaspar) and Evelyn Weston on singing saw.
This is a unique story of a teenage part-time prostitute who spends her earnings buying ice cream for neighborhood children, and of the man who obsesses over her from afar, told from both angles, and spanning their lives. However, the approach of this story intends to transcend taboos and judgment to offer the listener a vast spectrum of the emotion and ideals of the characters, setting and circumstance.
This album was written with the dream that it might one day be sung by Dolly Parton, and so pays tribute to her work and inspiration.
"The Parts That Showed" was released on CD by Epiphysis, and on LP by Music Fellowship, and is now available for purchase.
If you're a vinyl nut, www.MusicFellowship.com will have 2 different limited pressings of THE PARTS THAT SHOWED, 350 copies each, a pink vinyl edition, and a brown vinyl! and they'll have those ready for you early, too!
www.musicfellowship.com
The VIKING MOSES Team
PUBLICITY: Howard Wuelfing / Howlin' Wuelf Media / www.howlinwuelf.com
RADIO: Amanda Colbenson / Chouette Promotion / www.chouetteshop.com
ATTORNEY: Richard Hoare / Clintons / www.clintons.co.uk
MAIL ORDER: Curtis Knapp / Marriage Records / www.marriagerecs.com
VINYL: Daron Gardner / Music Fellowship / www.musicfellowship.com
BOOKING: Epiphysis / epiphysisfoundation@gmail.com (re: CITY / DATE)
“Jones Boys” from the NEW album “The Parts That Showed” by the Viking Moses. This video was filmed in Austin, Texas by Rhonda Turnbough.
"CROSSES" ALBUM DISCRIPTION
Many balls-to-the-wall musicians adopt a bohemian persona to fit their music, but Viking Moses is the real deal. Living a nomadic life for nearly a decade now, Brendon Massei has released banjo and acoustic guitar albums under several names. Perpetually on tour (since 1996), he has played with Will Oldham, Cat Power, Songs: Ohia and Devendra Banhart, to name a few, yet Masseis body of work has received little commercial or critical attention. His newest full-length under the Viking Moses moniker, the story-song cycle Crosses, is by far his most accomplished work, and ranks among the best of the newest crop of American folk recordings.
For anyone who has seen Massei perform live, the delicate mood of Crosses may come as a bit of a surprise. While a Viking Moses show often finds Massei on his knees wailing like a man possessed, Crosses consists of nothing more than a softly picked nylon-string acoustic guitar, a bass, and some piano flourishes, with Massei’s trademark baritone rarely reaching its cathartic heights. While Massei may be accused of holding back, Crosses is actually strengthened by his reserve; otherwise, these odes to a girl named Emma could have come across a bit too earnest.
Massei’s simple, and thoroughly endearing lyrics complement the breezy melodies. On Little Emma’s Smile he sings, I love the fishes that swim around me / God made the fishes and God made me / I love Emma, her smiles so free / God, may little Emma’s smile find me against a melody that could just as well be a nursery rhyme. There is a sense of childlike wonder throughout reminiscent of another of Masseis old touring partners, Little Wings. But where Little Wings Kyle Field turns his wonderment outward towards nature, Massei is content to wonder at the ways in which love alters ones perception, as he sings on Little Arms: When you hold my little arms wrist out / you show me just how little I really am.
The simplicity of the music allows Massei’s lyrics, with their roughly sketched narrative, to be the albums centerpiece. In My Husbands Hand, Massei imagines himself in Emma’s place, watching a group of children and feeling his/her biological clock ticking. At just a minute and a half, it epitomizes the albums precision just over 30 minutes without a single unnecessary note. While it can sound overly precious at times for the pysche-folk crowd, Crosses is a quiet piece of lamentation and joy that is hard not to embrace.
by Jon Pitt,
Dusted Magazine
DISCLAIMER: CONTRARY TO POPULAR BELIEF, I HAVE NEVER "TOURED" WITH OLDHAM OR CAT POWER. ALSO, "WEREWOLVES IN THE CITY" IS A COVER OF A QUEM QUAERITIS SONG, I DID NOT WRITE THE WORDS, BUT I DID WRITE THE MUSIC, AS IT WAS ORIGINALY A RAP SONG.
