Sad Songs Say So Much: A Listen to MOAT's "Acid Rain"

Last month, MOAT – a collaboration between former The Church guitarist Marty Willson-Piper and Niko Röhlck of Weeping Willows – released the fantastic “Gone By Noon,” the first single from their forthcoming second album, Poison Stream (due in early 2021). Now, they have just unveiled a second tune, “Acid Rain,” in time to coincide with the launch an Indiegogo page in support of the new album.

Those (like yours truly) who absolutely loved “Gone By Noon” and were struck hard by the song’s sense of loss and disconnection will find more of the same on “Acid Rain,” which uses a more upbeat musical presentation to cushion another Willson-Piper walk through lyrical melancholia:

You flick the pages

Of your book

Trying to find

The right line

Then there it is

That famous quote

That explains

Away your life

You flip a coin

You laugh out loud

As it’s lost.

However, “Acid Rain” is far from a complete downer, as the song’s arrangement (highlighted by the simple but highly effective charge of drummer Eddie John) flavors its sentiments with hooks that last for days. Synth player Torbjörn Svedberg and backing vocalist Dare Mason add just the right amount of light to the proceedings, while Willson-Piper’s return to guitar (after assuming bass duties for “Gone By Noon”) is instantly recognizable and characteristically pristine.

Based on the two songs available thus far, Poison Stream will be a fairly dark and cynical affair. And that’s okay… Emotions are emotions, and it’s an artist’s job to convey them. And there will surely be plenty of sonic beauty in the tracks to come to balance out whatever dark alleys MOAT choose to take us down upon the album’s release. I can’t wait to hear and feel where the journey takes me.

Have a listen to “Acid Rain” below:

MOAT · 01 Acid Rain

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