Moth Wings proves that Texas isn’t just for hip-hop and post-hardcore. Taking more of a “straight up rock n roll” approach to his music, this is one of those artists who’s music has just the right amount of aggression to be relatable without being overwhelming. Certain moments of his latest album Fi / M have a similar feel to Brand New.
I’m sure it strikes a different chord with everyone, but one thing is for sure, listening to Moth Wings will make you feel something.
*Thumbnail photo by @mazalthan
“In alphabetical order by artist here are my Top 10 albums. This is a list that I made for today, but it could change within hours because I tend not to be able to stay on one thing in terms of listening. Choosing a top 10 was incredibly hard.”
The 1975 – I like it when you sleep, for you are so beautiful yet so unaware of it
“I know it’s weird to start off a top 10 with such a modern pop record but this album genuinely pushed me into an emotional tantrum where I couldn’t stand my own art. After hearing the quality of the production and writing, after seeing these songs live with the insane visual production to go alongside it, I remember sitting down with myself and asking “what the hell am I doing”. This album in a way was so good it made me feel inferior, question my own art, and push me to keep up with the standard The 1975 had set.”
Black Rebel Motorcycle Club – B.M.R.C.
“In terms of enjoyment, there is a difference between my favorite albums and my most influential albums, and this one falls under the latter. At the time I stumbled across this record I was in an artistic transition. I was in between bands, and was trying to write music for Moth Wings with a pretty unclear idea as to what I wanted to become. This was a record I often plugged in on long drives to clear my head and ultimately I believe that it gave me the confidence to push Moth Wings into the rock direction it took. I had never played anything other than pop music leading up to this point, so it was definitely an enabler of rock n roll. Long live this album”
Cage The Elephant – Thank You Happy Birthday
“This is one of the most untamed records I’ve heard in mainstream music and it is of the upmost appeal to me for that reason. Here you have a record of three strong singles that allowed it to have radio play, and the rest of the album is an obvious experiment for Cage The Elephant. The teamwork they did with Jay Joyce on balancing insanity with listenability was executed so perfectly, and the whole album feels like walking a tight rope over a canyon, being pulled back and forth on either side of enjoying it passively and having to say “woah what the heck, that’s so weird” but they always managed to keep from going too far in either direction. Incredibly cool balance on this record.”
The Chariot – Long Live
“The Chariot is a band of it’s own kind. In a way it’s artistically primitive, by having such a strong focus on energy, aggression, performance, and completely breaking all the rules of contained music, but that’s of course what makes this record so unique. The first time I put the record on and Evan Perks began, I was instantly happy to be a listening to a record where the first track was literally just people slamming open strings on their guitars. Somehow, the attitude that The Chariot presents live was captured on this album, and it is one of the most important records to heavy music in my opinion. I struggled between putting Long Live or One Wing one my list, because One Wing is the musically more sensitive record, but I decided personally that the untamed aggression and lack of responsibility on Long Live is what truly defines The Chariot as they are meant to be heard.”
Dawes – North Hills
“Now that we’ve talked about the heaviest album on my list, let’s talk about the sweetest. Dawes did such a fantastic job at writing North Hills. It’s perfect Roots Rock, and has accompanied me on many many drives through tours. This album feels like a friend to me, with existential but light lyricism to remind me that none of life matters except the fact that we can enjoy it. In a way, this record comes across as a sweet grandfather or father figure giving wisdom. “Brush your teeth before bed, treat others kindly, and make sure you enjoy yourself from time to time” is the only way I could describe the narrative of this record. North Hills is a friend.”
Modest Mouse – Building Nothing Out of Something
“I’m the saaaaaaaaaaame as I was when I was 6 years old” comes screaming out of the speakers as the first line of this album. What a weird way to start. In a way I feel that Building Nothing Out of Something meets the other side of North Hills. Equally as existential, it seems to focus more on driving forever but going nowhere. At the end of the day though the album seems to conclude that that’s okay, and that it doesn’t matter we’re the same as when we were 6 years old. The quirkiness of the album is undeniably fun to listen to without becoming cringy, and I appreciate how goofy it is but how serious the concepts are. Realistically, this is the only Modest Mouse record I’ve ever enjoyed just because it’s a collection of all their weird B sides.”
The National – Trouble Will Find Me
“I could never say enough good things about this album. I’ve never heard something portray such complex and relatable feelings in such simple wording. Stand out one liners such as “God loves everybody, don’t remind me” that can be taken out of the song and put into any emotion you want, are littered throughout these songs. It takes you through the three stages of loss in order of the record. The first chunk of the album reflects grief, opening the album with the track “I Should Live In Salt”. It starts out with hopelessness, and self blame. This loss somehow has to be your fault, right? In this particular record it seems to be given the character of a romantic lover, who Matt Berninger no longer has in his life. He then takes you through the middle portion of the album to express envy of her composure, speaking about how he watches her be fireproof and could only ever wished to be that way. We finally get moved into the last part of the album which is focused mostly on wondering about the loss more than hurting from it, and finally watching everyone around you be normal and happy. The last track, “Hard To Find”, speaks of happiness within others all around Matt, and the fact that it’s so close, but he will never find it for himself. This has been an incredibly important record for living life with difficulty in happiness and coming to terms with seeing it everywhere. Truly a healing album, truly one of the greatest ever.”
Radiohead – In Rainbows
“I went back and forth for a long time on whether or not to put down In Rainbows or A Moon Shaped Pool and finally decided that In Rainbows was the more important record to me. Though A Moon Shaped Pool takes me on an emotional journey I could never understand, the innovative layering of instrumentals in In Rainbows really changed a lot about the way I decided to go about writing instrumentals in music. I know this album is highly acclaimed, so I won’t need to say too much more on it because you’ve most likely already heard every good thing about this record. In Rainbows though has opened up a new world of music for me that I know it has for others as well.”
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“Sufjan has always been a vulnerable artist and his music has been really easy for me to get into. He’s a true modern day composer and his knack for making modernized music reflect the same intricacies as classical music is incredibly unique. This album realistically just sits in my soul when it plays, and I always feel like I’m experiencing it in a theatre. Great work, and my family likes it too!”
Willows Field – Willows Field
“This album is incredibly special to me just because of the way it went about coming into my life. Willows Field is one man named Luke. When I was in elementary school my best friend was this kid named Kyle, and I had the ability to reconnect with him recently, and the first time we hung out again he pulled up this record and said “oh you should check this out, my friend made this.” On the first listen I just sat and laughed because of how much I loved the music, went home, and listened to it exclusively for a week. I later got in contact with Luke to book him for a show I was throwing, and to no surprise, his live set was as passionate as one person with a guitar could possibly get. Most of the reason this album is incredible is because it has an aura. the writing is incredible, but the passion is tangible even on record. The second time I saw Luke play I walked into the building, saw him sound checking, and almost started crying because I was so happy to have him exist. I’ve never seen an album so honestly line up with who an individual is the way I have seen it with Luke’s music in Willows Field. Honesty is rare in life, and there are no rewards for being vulnerable in art. Willows Field is the most pure form of this, the rarest love I’ve found in an album, and one of the few small artists who deserves the world at his finger tips when he plays.”
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“I found it hard to stick to 10 so as I was narrowing down my list I decided I would include a few albums that would have made it had I been given 20 spots, but I won’t be talking about them. Hopefully this has helped you understand me as an artist better, or confused you more. Either is fine. Check out anything you haven’t heard yet.”
Adult Jazz – Gist Is
Deafheaven – Sunbather
Elvis Depressedly – New Alhambra
Glocca Morra – Just Married
Harry Styles – Harry Styles
The Killers – Hot Fuss
Lorde – Melodrama
Mewithoutyou – Pale Horses
The Naked and Famous – Passive Me, Aggressive You
Patrick Watson – Wooden Arms
The Sex Pistols – Never Mind the Bollocks, Here’s the Sex Pistols
Listen to Moth Wings newest album, Fi / M below:
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