Moses Sumney - “Grae”
We exist in an age abundant with talented artists. This can be attributed to how accessible making music is nowadays. To add to this, distributing your own music is also much easier than it has ever been.
In fact, Rolling Stone highlights how more and more artists are taking alternative routes when it comes to distribution. One look at the number of band's and artists that we've interviewed and featured on the site and it's easy to see that it's a good time to be an independent musician. While this is generally a good thing, this has caused modern music to be rather saturated. Rarely do we come across an artist that stands out — however, Moses Sumney is one of those artists.
Moses Sumney didn't take to music as quickly as most musicians. This may be because Sumney hadn't really been subjected to any form of training when it comes to using instruments. However, this didn't stop him from creating music as he started making acapella music way before he even picked up a guitar. However, things changed fairly quickly and Sumney released his debut album Aromanticism back in 2017 which was met with widespread acclaim from both fans and critics alike. With his latest release, Moses Sumney proves that his debut album was no fluke. If you want know more about this, read on for our review of his latest album Grae!
Before we even start talking about the music on this double album, we have to talk about how beautifully Grae talks about the nuances of gender, sex, and identity. If you've listened to Sumney's previous albums then you probably know how strong of a songwriter he is. He's able to weave tender narratives with an almost unmatched sincerity, thus building an almost instant connection with his listeners. More of the same is seen in his latest release. Tracks such as "In Bloom" contain the lines "'Cause I've held you in place/Of a wife in the space/A spouse would hold/Only with you, I'm safe", that expose Sumney's inner feeling like a raw nerve. In a time where the "too cool to care" aesthetic dominates the realm of pop culture, instances of vulnerability feel like a breath of fresh air.
If you enjoyed Sumney's previous album, you'll be glad to know things stay relatively the same music-wise. In fact, the only knock we have for this album is that it almost seems to play it a little safe. One clear instance of this is with "Conveyor". To truly understand what we mean, listen to “Replaceable” - a track that Sumney released in 2013, prior to his debut album. Here, Sumney utilizes the loop pedal to turn himself into a one-man soul-folk band. While the general sound is different on "Conveyor", it's not a stretch to say that the heavy use of the loop pedal is something that Sumney seems to lean on in some of his tracks. However, it's important to note that some things need not be changed. This may not even be an issue of creativity, as Sumney may just be that self-assured as an artist that he doesn't think of things as old and new. Rather he just makes the music that he feels passionate about.
Overall, Sumney takes listeners on a 20-track trip, an exploration of one's inner self. And while one's first instinct may be to resist such introspection, Sumney pulls you in from the first track and keeps you on this ride until the last. It's wild that this is only Sumney's second album, as what we hear on Grae is an artist that is fully realized. We don't know what's next for Sumney but we know we aren't alone when we say we can't wait for what he does next.
If you want to read more reviews and artist features, check out our piece on the genre-bending R&B artist UMI!