"an ocean / is the only thing that stops us now / devotion / devotion / to every face in the crowd..."
The sweet and savory emotional chords of "Leaving" by Central Valley California's Mox, pulls you into it's wonderfully wistful indie rock striations of emo, of twee, of folk indie, bedroom, singer-songwriter all at once and forever. This is to say that the kind of 90's / early to mid aughts endearing places that it brings you to easily (and lovingly) feels potent as opposed to just nostalgic. And this is the thing, it is genuinely, perfectly constructed. While there is nothing cliché here, I feel the likes of Elliot Smith, Smashing Pumpkins, Sea of Bees, The Polyphonic Spree, Nick Drake wafting off the ether of "Leaving" (and some other of Mox's artful songs that I poked around in) and, well, how great is that. It is really great.
I love Mox's vocal countenance, that with the gentle bell tones, lovely guitar rhythms and sort of glossy lo-fi synth, propulsive bass and drum dances, feels so youthful in spirit and tonally that this song feels like it would appeal to the young and the young mixed up person inside all of us no matter our current age. Just lovely, like a strong embrace from loved ones when you are having a shitty day or a crushingly bad week.
Super cool track.
-Robb Donker Curtius
LYRICS
hey whatchu say
i can't stay
a reaction today
not today
i won't stay
tucked away from the truth
an ocean
is the only thing that stops us now
devotion
devotion
to every face in the crowd
there's nothing left for you to hide
none of this is new
i can't get through to you
it's something i could do
without
oh yeah
i'm leaving
and I'm not coming back
it's almost spring
buy a ring
that you're not gonna use
clip my wings
i can't sing
anymore about you
emotions
are the only thing that holds me down
some stupid fucking notion
that i'm still sticking around
you keep your things and i'll keep mine
none of this is new
i can't get through to you
it's something i could do
without
out yeah
i'm leaving
and i'm not coming back
my order sky
is turning black
looking at all these pictures makes me cry
i wonder why
i looks so bright
it hurts my eyes
you cross your heart and hope to die
none of this new
i can't get through to you
it's something i could do
without oh yeah
i'm leaving
and i'm not coming back
hey whatchu say
i can't stay
a reaction today
not today
i won't stay
tucked away from the truth
an ocean
is the only thing that stops us now
devotion
devotion
to every face in the crowd
there's nothing left for you to hide
none of this is new
i can't get through to you
it's something i could do
without
oh yeah
i'm leaving
and I'm not coming back
it's almost spring
buy a ring
that you're not gonna use
clip my wings
i can't sing
anymore about you
emotions
are the only thing that holds me down
some stupid fucking notion
that i'm still sticking around
you keep your things and i'll keep mine
none of this is new
i can't get through to you
it's something i could do
without
out yeah
i'm leaving
and i'm not coming back
my order sky
is turning black
looking at all these pictures makes me cry
i wonder why
i looks so bright
it hurts my eyes
you cross your heart and hope to die
none of this new
i can't get through to you
it's something i could do
without oh yeah
i'm leaving
and i'm not coming back
LINER NOTES (excerpted / bracketed):
[Mox makes music for love, love lost, and broken hearts. For every smile from a stranger on the street. For unsent letters full of secrets too mundane to keep.]
[Started in 2020 by a then 16 year old girl with a deep fascination for songwriting and a vague understanding of GarageBand, Mox has always put earnestness at the top of her priority list. In 2023, she released her debut full length Heart, a lofi and emotionally raw project that showed an artist just beginning to find her voice, but whether she’s weaving her life into a melody or crafting a chord progression from a story she can’t get out of her head, it seems with every song she’s determined to establish herself as a powerhouse in her scene and beyond.]
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
https://www.instagram.com/teenageweirdo
https://moxmoxmox.bandcamp.com/track/leaving
https://www.tiktok.com/@zitiixl
https://moxmoxmox.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/omixom
https://www.instagram.com/moxmoxmoxmoxmoxmoxmox/
Mox makes music for love, love lost, and broken hearts. For every smile from a stranger on the street. For unsent letters full of secrets too mundane to keep.
Started in 2020 by a then 16 year old girl with a deep fascination for songwriting and a vague understanding of GarageBand, Mox has always put earnestness at the top of her priority list. In 2023, she released her debut full length Heart, a lofi and emotionally raw project that showed an artist just beginning to find her voice, but whether she’s weaving her life into a melody or crafting a chord progression from a story she can’t get out of her head, it seems with every song she’s determined to establish herself as a powerhouse in her scene and beyond.
Deeply inspired by her hometown of Merced and the Central Valley of California, Mox’s music shows the quaint complexity of growing up in a small town with an itching urge to create. When she needs to create, it’s often the people and connections around her that set a spark. In a chat over coffee, or a small interaction with a new face, Mox finds the stories and feelings that fuel her music, revealing a depth in Merced that a lot of people ignore.
From a first glance, Mox fits perfectly well into the indie pop umbrella, but the more you listen, the harder it feels to pin down. Lyrically, Mox is a storyteller through and through. An obvious lover of Elliott Smith and Sylvia Plath, each line walks you further down the path of ambiguity. Always toeing the line between autobiographical and fiction, between the literal and the metaphorical. But always heavy. It’s almost like she’s using her music as a way to lift something off her chest and onto you.
Sonically, Mox’s second full length Spirits is a step forward in every direction. Still recorded DIY in her bedroom, it somehow sounds both more expansive and more intimate. A proud student of the Sparklehorse and Alex G school of home recording, Mox uses Spirits to lean into her love of bluegrass, dreamy soundscapes, good ol’ guitar music, and a kind of warm weirdness that makes every listen feel like finding something unexpected in the corner of the room.
With her new album, Mox sets out to capture lost love, and the ghosts it leaves behind. Each song stands alone, and yet with the start of each, a story builds. Spirits is Mox at her most honest, and she’s still just getting started.
The Chicken Wheel will take you to the AP Go Fund Me- and any amount is so appreciated!
THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM
https://www.instagram.com/teenageweirdo
https://moxmoxmox.bandcamp.com/track/leaving
https://www.tiktok.com/@zitiixl
https://moxmoxmox.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/omixom
https://www.instagram.com/moxmoxmoxmoxmoxmoxmox/
Mox makes music for love, love lost, and broken hearts. For every smile from a stranger on the street. For unsent letters full of secrets too mundane to keep.
Started in 2020 by a then 16 year old girl with a deep fascination for songwriting and a vague understanding of GarageBand, Mox has always put earnestness at the top of her priority list. In 2023, she released her debut full length Heart, a lofi and emotionally raw project that showed an artist just beginning to find her voice, but whether she’s weaving her life into a melody or crafting a chord progression from a story she can’t get out of her head, it seems with every song she’s determined to establish herself as a powerhouse in her scene and beyond.
Deeply inspired by her hometown of Merced and the Central Valley of California, Mox’s music shows the quaint complexity of growing up in a small town with an itching urge to create. When she needs to create, it’s often the people and connections around her that set a spark. In a chat over coffee, or a small interaction with a new face, Mox finds the stories and feelings that fuel her music, revealing a depth in Merced that a lot of people ignore.
From a first glance, Mox fits perfectly well into the indie pop umbrella, but the more you listen, the harder it feels to pin down. Lyrically, Mox is a storyteller through and through. An obvious lover of Elliott Smith and Sylvia Plath, each line walks you further down the path of ambiguity. Always toeing the line between autobiographical and fiction, between the literal and the metaphorical. But always heavy. It’s almost like she’s using her music as a way to lift something off her chest and onto you.
Sonically, Mox’s second full length Spirits is a step forward in every direction. Still recorded DIY in her bedroom, it somehow sounds both more expansive and more intimate. A proud student of the Sparklehorse and Alex G school of home recording, Mox uses Spirits to lean into her love of bluegrass, dreamy soundscapes, good ol’ guitar music, and a kind of warm weirdness that makes every listen feel like finding something unexpected in the corner of the room.
With her new album, Mox sets out to capture lost love, and the ghosts it leaves behind. Each song stands alone, and yet with the start of each, a story builds. Spirits is Mox at her most honest, and she’s still just getting started.
Mox, Merced California, indie rock, emo, twee, post punk, 90's / early aughts, singer songwriter, bedroom indie, dreamy, endearing, folk, alt pop, "Leaving" single, artful, introspective, forever sound,
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