Nathaniel Bellows The Moat
New York-based folk singer-songwriter Nathaniel Bellows releases his new EP, The Moat, an exploration of how the defenses people construct to protect themselves, like a moat, can also serve as prison walls, isolating them from others and from what it means to be human.
Bellows released his album The Old Illusions in 2016, followed by 2018’s Swan and Wolf, and then 2020’s Three. He is the author of two novels and a collection of poetry. He has collaborated with composer Sarah Kirkland Snider.
The Moat was produced by Bellows and Michael Hammond and recorded at Brooklyn’s Figure 8 Recording. Musicians appearing on the EP include Bellows (acoustic guitar, vocals), Michael Coleman (piano, organ), Kid Millions (drums, percussion), and Ian Davis (bass, electric guitar).
Made up of six tracks, high points on The Moat include the opener, “That Too,” a drifting bluesy folk song colored by tints of gospel flavors. A softly braying organ and darker, rolling piano infuse the melody with a rippling surface as Bellows’ grainy vocals imbue the lyrics with intense passion.
“Cull a treaty / Call in my enemies / If the meaning of love / Is a series of rungs to a roof? But then, we’ll / Dig the hole / And seal up the walls.”
On “Works for Me,” the harmonics take on a bit of brightness, although Bellows’ voice remains vivid with tangs of aching melancholy. There’s a starkness to the vocals that surround the lyrics in a kind of elegiac cocoon.
A personal favorite because of its dreamy, shadowy textures highlighted by gleaming sparkles of color, “Your Fault” conjures up vague memories of Leonard Cohen because of Bellows’ inflections and phrasing and the somber mood of both the lyrics and the melody.
The closing track, “Proof,” is at once tentative and sad, as if reaching out for connection but hesitant because of fear.
“All in service / Of a life I’ve lived / (When I’m nervous / I can’t settle in) / What if a person / Wants to start again? / What if it’s you? / What if it’s you?”
There’s a subtle audacity to The Moat, as Nathaniel Bellows examines the human tendency to keep others out.
Discover more about Nathaniel Bellows here.
Enjoy our previous coverage here: Song Premiere: Nathaniel Bellows “Haul Me In”
