Does anyone ever relax on the porch anymore? We’ve had a peculiar spring, but evenings almost beckon again with that Goldilocks warmth, when the sun’s residual heat still lingers in the pavement. I suppose city-dwellers hang outside bars, among chattering crowds, laughing over beers and the passing traffic, with ears cocked toward the window to catch whatever lousy band’s up next. But in the country, you soak up those evenings in subtle silence—no police sirens, no blaring car horns, no music. I can’t say I miss those nights; I certainly don’t miss dousing myself in bug spray every time I walked out past 5 p.m. But “Brother” glows with a firefly aura, and lost memories tip into focus—like the night we sat outside and watched chain lightning weave jagged lattices across the sky.
Hymnal Moths are probably city boys, I don’t know. Clayton Dean descends from the ranks of the almighty Of the Vine, so that’s one from Atlanta; but Jamey Merritt of gritty hardcore fellas Gordan hails from Gainesville, so that’s an even split. At any rate, the two together create a Southern yard not steeped in golden sunset, but hidden in hushed night, when the folks have gone to bed and you’re alone with the crickets and cicadas. I’m definitely thinking about the reverential saunter of Songs: Ohia here (as I often do), coupled with the ponderous weight of Red House Painters (in fact, Gordan’s last single was a RHP cover). But, more importantly, I’m thinking about how that banjo slips in, congenial but discreet, which inexplicably lends a kiss of Sufjan Stevens and the world beyond that yard, a world I thought about only as music from the outside slipped into my ears.
That, to me, is how “Brother” shines. Without saying much, Hymnal Moths convey a complex stasis on the front porch, a stillness you could cherish yet brood in at the same time. That doesn’t happen much in the city—either you’re with folks and guffawing out the crickets, or alone and regretting every minute. Yet this evening, without any bug spray sheen whatsoever, I’ve fallen under a spell.
Hymnal Moths will release their new sophomore cassette, Be Felt, on Apr. 30 via Low Noise Recordings. Pre-orders are available here.
More Info
Web: hymnalmoths.org
Bandcamp: hymnalmoths.bandcamp.com
Facebook: @hymnalmoths