First up on the list of my favourite 6 albums from 2019, is a short collection of cosmic folk songs and a solo endeavour by the Frontwoman of LA surf rockers, La Luz.
Growing up, one of the most important albums to me was Queens of the Stone Age’s “Songs for the Deaf”. Their defining third record, a concept album taking the listener on a journey across the sweltering California Desert. I listened to this album on repeat, over and over again. For me, it romanticised the California Desert and whilst not explicitly, I always felt that it painted a particular picture of the landscapes and serenity to be found there, as well as the colourful populations to be found along the way (a far cry from quiet Cornwall). Now imagine if you will, that you were to course the same journey in a lucid dreamlike state. Accompanied only by the weirdness and supernatural ambience of the surrounding sunset landscape. You are now listening to Shana Cleveland’s “Night of the Worm Moon”, and you are in for an absolute treat.
It will never fail to amaze me, hearing genres being explored in seemingly unique ways, oftentimes feeling completely unfamiliar and otherworldly. Those two adjectives are particularly on the mark in the case of this album. At its heart, “Night of the Worm Moon” is a folk album, but as a sum of its parts it is so much more. Apparently inspired by LA’s cosmic and supernatural ley lines, so to speak, I think the best summation of the album’s sound that I have heard is “UFO Folk”.
The album as a whole is an almost ethereal experience and each track flows into the next perfectly. The atmosphere it sets, lends itself to sleepy evenings in front of the fire, as well as it does to carefree drives exploring undiscovered landscapes. The album opens with a single plucked guitar melody played by Cleveland on the track “Don’t Let me Sleep” before growing with the addition of flutes and vocal harmonies, setting the tone perfectly. Almost lullaby-esque, the track flows along with Cleveland’s sleepy vocal delivery, singing of a typical musicians fever dream; a performance gone wrong and plagued with difficulties. The concerns and issues waylaid however, by the reassuring, warm presence of her Grandmother, side of stage.
I feel that I also need to mention the second track on the album “Face of the Sun” which is, for me, one of the stand out moments on an already fantastic album. Evoking the feel of a classic western with the reverb heavy slide guitar, sat perfectly atop a cantering rhythm guitar underneath. You can almost feel the sweltering sun overhead as the track gallops onwards.
It is worth mentioning that 2 of the albums 10 tracks are actually instrumentals. Both short in length, the first “Castle Milk” is in my opinion the strongest and perfectly ties up the albums beginning and is a pleasant break before the title track. “Night of the Worm Moon” begins with a spanish tinged piece of guitar that demonstrates the subtle versatility of Cleveland throughout the album. The title of the album is actually a tip of the hat to “Night of the Purple Moon”, an album by one of Shana Cleveland’s musical inspirations, Jazz artist, Sun Ra. Although musically the albums differ, the inspiration is clear to see, with both sharing cosmic philosophies and occupying an extra-terrestrial headspace.
My personal favourite track on the album is “Invisible When the Sun Leaves”. Sonically, the darkest track on the album, Cleveland plucks at arpeggios whilst the western-style slide guitar from “Face of the Sun” returns, this time with a more sinister undercurrent. Cleveland’s vocals also stand out on this track (howls of “For youuuu” during the chorus are particularly haunting).
On first listen, Shana Cleveland’s “Night of the Worm Moon” may seem to more closely resemble a collection of supernatural lullabies than it does a typical americana folk album. There are no 8 minute ballads here and the songs are not padded out with unnecessary instrumentation. Every sound has its place and fits perfectly where required within the short runtime, clocking in at just over half an hour. I would wholeheartedly recommend setting aside 30 minutes of your time to truly listen to the album as a whole. Its uniqueness is what drew me to it in the first place, and what keeps beaming me back in for repeat listens.
https://shanacleveland.bandcamp.com/album/night-of-the-worm-moon
Please support the artist and check out Shana Cleveland on Bandcamp. The album is also available for streaming on Spotify
Thanks for reading! I’d love to hear what you thought of the album, and any similar recommendations.
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