James Moore - James Moore: Desolation Pops (2023)

James Moore (b. 1979) is a composer with an eye toward the world of games and experimental theater. He’s an electric guitarist who’s willing and eager to treat his instrument as a playground, not a reverent, static tradition. He’s a tinkerer, a charmer, and a fella who’s always up for another round at the bar of wacky ideas and intellectual questioning. He’s excited for new and unexpected opportunities for collaboration, but always maintains a voice that seems to stay recognizably his own throughout the myriad projects he takes on as his life’s work. The beautiful pieces on this album —Lowlands (2017) for accordion and voices; Clair-Obscur (2018) for triple harp; Desolation Pops (2016–18) for piano and string quartet — reflect those playful and curious penchants of this music-maker extraordinaire. You’ll hear comforting clarity, choreographed awkwardness, sudden synchronies, and inexplicable noises on this record. Put on your coziest vintage sweater, grab a classy cocktail in a quirky heirloom glass and get ready to give your ears a treat as you tour the stringed and unstringed sounds of Desolation Pops. — Lainie Fefferman (from the liner notes)