"step into a light I've never known..."
"Fetter" sits squarely in the center of Moroccan Dog's self titled debut EP. Amid a groovy bass line. jangly guitar rhythms and ever shifting drums, Callan Spafford's post grunge croon is formidable in it's emotional sweep. The vocal aesthetic is seasoned and self aware, able to sound torn and tender, gritty in the mid tones and even more so in the high register wails and falsettos. The overall musical anchors on the EP and musical narratives have a powerful post rock nature blended with blues rock, grunge and artful post punk tones as well.
Spafford digs deep into the thrust of the EP:
“This EP has been a sort of slice-of-life expression for me of this intense sadness that I’ve carried with me since before I can remember. I was somewhat of a solitary kid for most of my life, and as I’ve come of age and grown into myself I’ve dealt with the juxtaposition of that sadness with whatever charm or sociability I’ve developed. The writing behind these songs tends to deal with a yearning, mostly developed behind some inability to separate love and romance from the other factors of my life. In this too I’ve always had some need to expose myself to that pure emotional expression of everything from heavy rock bands like Led Zeppelin to poets like Shakespeare and novels like Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast (inspiring Admit This with the line ‘When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days, though, the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed.’) Through it all, there’s a desire to fill the role of this person I’m supposed to be, so often curtailed by the person that I am. I guess that if I can’t feel any better, I might as well try my best to make something as beautiful as I can from it."
“This EP has been a sort of slice-of-life expression for me of this intense sadness that I’ve carried with me since before I can remember. I was somewhat of a solitary kid for most of my life, and as I’ve come of age and grown into myself I’ve dealt with the juxtaposition of that sadness with whatever charm or sociability I’ve developed. The writing behind these songs tends to deal with a yearning, mostly developed behind some inability to separate love and romance from the other factors of my life. In this too I’ve always had some need to expose myself to that pure emotional expression of everything from heavy rock bands like Led Zeppelin to poets like Shakespeare and novels like Ernest Hemingway's A Moveable Feast (inspiring Admit This with the line ‘When the cold rains kept on and killed the spring, it was as though a young person had died for no reason. In those days, though, the spring always came finally but it was frightening that it had nearly failed.’) Through it all, there’s a desire to fill the role of this person I’m supposed to be, so often curtailed by the person that I am. I guess that if I can’t feel any better, I might as well try my best to make something as beautiful as I can from it."
-On the track, "Nobody's Fault But Mine", crystallized in the snaking nature of the verses and the spiraling heaviness of the chorus is the eclipsing 90's Seattle grunge sound of artists like Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Nirvana. That sound has never disappeared but may have stepped away from the spotlight. I hear that sound deep in the veins of Moroccan Dog.
-Robb Donker Curtius
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THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://moroccandog.com/
https://www.instagram.com/moroccan_dog/
* * *
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM - PRESS NOTES:
https://moroccandog.com/
https://www.instagram.com/moroccan_dog/
https://www.facebook.com/moroccandog/
In the midst of Seattle’s sonic evolution towards rap and pop, there’s one band that has taken old-school 90s grunge to its next step. Moroccan Dog, with their sweet but brooding alternative rock, has built up a cult following in Seattle; their show at Sunday School was packed so heavily that fans ripped the doors off their hinges. The band’s debut EP Moroccan Dog was co-produced by Michael Cozzi (Guitarist for Sky Cries Mary) and frontman Callan Spafford and mixed by Adam Burd (Fleet Foxes, Brandi Carlile, Car Seat Headrest). Callan grew up musically under the mentorship of his Godfather, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, as well as REM and King Crimson drummer Bill Reiflin. As he puts it, “I feel so grateful to have been able to have mentorship from the same people that influenced me so profoundly. It was just my reality, but like anyone I had to find my place in it." Regarding the EP he says, "This EP has been a sort of slice-of-life expression for me of this intense sadness that I’ve carried with me since before I can remember.”
In the midst of Seattle’s sonic evolution towards rap and pop, there’s one band that has taken old-school 90s grunge to its next step. Moroccan Dog, with their sweet but brooding alternative rock, has built up a cult following in Seattle; their show at Sunday School was packed so heavily that fans ripped the doors off their hinges. The band’s debut EP Moroccan Dog was co-produced by Michael Cozzi (Guitarist for Sky Cries Mary) and frontman Callan Spafford and mixed by Adam Burd (Fleet Foxes, Brandi Carlile, Car Seat Headrest). Callan grew up musically under the mentorship of his Godfather, Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell, as well as REM and King Crimson drummer Bill Reiflin. As he puts it, “I feel so grateful to have been able to have mentorship from the same people that influenced me so profoundly. It was just my reality, but like anyone I had to find my place in it." Regarding the EP he says, "This EP has been a sort of slice-of-life expression for me of this intense sadness that I’ve carried with me since before I can remember.”
Moroccan Dog, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock, Seattle, Chris Cornell as mentor, Bill Reiflin as mentor, post grunge, 90's grunge tones, singer songwriter, self titled EP,
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