Dogwood & Holly - Moth and Rust (2014)

You’ve seen it happen in a few movie sequels. You loved the first movie, and you’ve waited way too long for the second movie to come out. The theatre lights dim, the soundtrack starts…and then BOOM–the movie screen blinds you with an epic scene full of fire and awesome and the hero emerges from an explosion that probably made Michael Bay refuse to stand up for a few minutes afterward.

That’s how Moth and Rust begins.

Welcome to the sophomore album from Dogwood & Holly. Now unlike many movie sequels, this second work is no disappointment. In fact, this album is an answer to the desperate pleas of music-hungry Lynchburg, VA, and it is sure to satisfy our proverbial bellies for a long time to come.

I was lucky enough to get an early listen (the album becomes available on iTunes and Amazon July 1), and I couldn’t be happier with what I heard. I’ve been a fan of the band for as long as my friend, Owen Davenport (bass-fiddle, vocals), has been a member (certainly I would have enjoyed their music before Owen’s entrance, but I had not yet heard of them). Moth and Rust offers a deeper, more eclectic look into the hearts and souls of the band, following an excellent–though hastily recorded–debut album, Bonaparte. Moth and Rust was recorded at Yadah Studios in Lynchburg, and they have done some incredible work. The recording/mastering quality is a huge step up from Bonaparte, with professional-level sounds and very smooth track-to-track transitions (about which I’m just super weird…I actually have a list of my favorite “transition” albums, but I digress). If my readers get nothing else out of the critique, just know this: Moth and Rust is an instant classic and you should get your hands on it as soon as you can.

-Charlie Evans