Marty Willson-Piper (The Church, All About Eve, Noctorum) and multi-instrumentalist/composer Niko Röhlcke (Weeping Willows) have teamed up once again for the ingenious new MOAT album entitled Poison Stream via Schoolkids Records, a follow-up to their eponymous first album (2013). The new album sees these two highly prolific artists coming together with an eclectic and eccentric mix of songs that stretch the bounds of the imagination. The album’s title Poison Stream sets the stage and brings forth the idea that in today’s internet age, musicians have an easier time streaming their music online yet making a living and finding it for the listeners proves to be a difficult embarkment. It’s a double-edged sword. And then with the addition of the history of music, before the internet, it becomes an endless stream of material. In a recent interview with Torched Magazine, pre-album release, Marty talks about this idea and so much more.. listen HERE.
Poison Stream starts off with the track ‘Acid Rain’, Marty’s chiming and robust 12-string guitar sounds take the lead with an accompanying driving beat along with Niko’s haunting yet somehow tranquil synth. Lyrically, Marty jumps headfirst into that Poison Stream with heartfelt deep contemplation alongside intricate streaming layers of sound, pieced together to the point of perfection. If acid rain was literally a song, this is exactly how it would sound.
‘Gone By Noon’, the second track steadily creeps under your skin and envelops the listener into a helpless corner of loss. This is followed by ‘Helpless You’ which takes us even deeper into a dark helpless space, yet the light glistens and slips through as the song prances and struts through the shadows.
And just when you think it can’t get any more harrowing, ‘The Ballad Of Sweet Marie’ faces off with death in a slow moving playful dance with the devil. The next track switches things up,‘The Roadmap To My Soul’, drives us down a more rock induced contemplative road trip, my personal favorite from this collection of songs.
‘Judgment Day’ takes us directly into the sanctuary where judgment looms, while ‘Black And White’ dances with the difficulties of our changing times, and as I interpret it, especially in the music business. ‘The Folly’ is a moving sentimental tearjerker on many levels that is directly followed by ‘Lover’ which is a reflection of loosing someone near and dear. The track livens up as the song goes on, turning the sentimental sadness into something that is more reflective and even celebrated in the end.
‘Tears Will Come’ is a sad but sweet and lively track and the perfect ending to MOAT’s collection of songs on Poison Stream. There are many twists and turns and unexpected moments on Poison Stream that are brought together with explicit precision injected with pure unbridled emotion. The entire experience begins from the very first moment that you hold the cover in your hand, examine the details and put the needle on the record.. And I feel like this is exactly the kind of album that must be listened to in sequence in order to fully grasp and enjoy the experience that unfolds. It’s a dying art to observe and listen to music in this way, and I feel like this is part of the message that is ultimately conveyed. Take some time to smell the roses, support independent artists and put on a good record today.. With that being said, I highly recommend MOAT’s Poison Stream!
MOAT Poison Stream is now available for purchase via Schoolkids Records. You can also buy Marty a coffee here.. and read his popular ‘To Where I Am Now’ daily musings on his blog.
Keep up with MOAT / Marty Willson-Piper
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ALBUM CREDITS:
ACID RAIN
Niko Röhlcke – acoustic 12 string, electric guitar, bass, synths
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal, acoustic 12 string, electric guitar, EBow
Dare Mason – backing vocals, sequencer
Torbjörn Svedberg – synths
Eddie John – drums
GONE BY NOON
Niko Röhlcke – acoustic guitar, keyboards
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal, bass
Olivia Willson-Piper – backing vocals
Dare Mason – additional keyboards
Eddie John – drums
HELPLESS YOU
Niko Röhlcke – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal, acoustic 12 string, electric guitar, Leslie guitar, bouzouki
Olivia Willson-Piper – violins, backing vocals
Dare Mason – piano, backing vocals
Eddie John – drums
THE BALLAD OF SWEET MARIE
Niko Röhlcke – acoustic guitar, bass, piano, accordion
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal, acoustic 12 string
Olivia Willson-Piper – harmony vocals, violin, cellolin
THE ROADMAP TO MY SOUL
Niko Röhlcke – acoustic guitars, electric guitars, bass
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal, outro solo guitar
Jonas Wall – tenor saxophone
Jonas Lindeborg – trumpet
Dare Mason – backing vocals
Eddie John – drums
JUDGEMENT DAY
Niko Röhlcke – acoustic guitar, bass, keyboards
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal, acoustic 12 string, electric guitar (tremolo), bass
Olivia Willson-Piper – violin, cellolin, backing vocals
Katie Kirk – backing vocals
Dare Mason – piano
Eddie John – drums
BLACK AND WHITE
Niko Röhlcke – acoustic guitar, electric guitar, keyboards
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal, backing vocals, lead guitar, bass
Torbjörn Svedberg – drum programming
Dare Mason – drum programming
Eddie John – drums
THE FOLLY
Niko Röhlcke – classical guitar
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal Malin-My Wall – violins, violas
Madelene Johansson – cellos
LOVER
Niko Röhlcke – guitar, bass, organ
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal
Jonas Wall – tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone
Jonas Lindeborg – trumpet, flugelhorn
Olivia Willson-Piper – violins, cellolin, backing vocals
Katie Kirk – backing vocals
Eddie John – drums
TEARS WILL COME
Niko Röhlcke – acoustic guitar
Marty Willson-Piper – lead vocal, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, bongos, whistling Malin-My Wall – violin
Madelene Johansson – cello
Helen Musser – Golowan drum
Written by MARTY WILLSON-PIPER & NIKO RÖHLCKE Produced by DARE MASON, MARTY WILLSON-PIPER & NIKO RÖHLCKE Engineered, recorded and mixed by DARE MASON at the VIP Lounge, Penzance, England Additional recording by NIKO RÖHLCKE at Attic Studios, Stockholm, Sweden Mastered by POPPY WEINBERGER for Riverfish Mastering
Art Direction & Design by OLIVIA WILLSON-PIPER Layout Coordination by LIZZIE TUCKER Cover Photograph by JAN AXEL UDDENFELDT, taken at Nothamn, Väddö, Sweden Additional Photography by FOREST SIMON & ANNIE SPRATT
Lyrics by MARTY WILLSON-PIPER
TORCHED MAGAZINE 