We first wrote about Sam Cantor’s Minor Moon project at the beginning of 2016, with his debut full-length A Whisper, A Shout winning us over with its ability to “invok[e] importance and meaning from words and phrases which might seem overwrought in other hands”. The record blended sadness, honesty and catharsis to create something at once sad and fulfilling, sorrow and regret illuminated by a persistent sense of hope or fondness which always threatened to break through the clouds.
Fast forward a year and Minor Moon are back with a new five-song release. The new EP, titled What Our Enemies Know, develops the aforementioned feels and themes into richer territories. As the press release explains, “[the EP] explores the tension between being haunted by ghosts and embattled by enemies, both real and imagined, while simultaneously affirming the lightness, playfulness and love required to overcome these universal challenges.”
We’re delighted to share the latest single from the release, ‘Safe Dreams’. A perfect example of Cantor’s aesthetic, the track is a lush, vivid song somewhere between the classic sound of Neil Young and van Morrison and contemporary folk-rock from the likes of Grizzly Bear. Both the instrumentation and Cantor’s vocals possess a smooth lilt, though the mellowness belies an assertive passion which builds across the run-time.
“Will you take off your last good disguise
you can’t fake it as well as you once did
and you can wake any time you would like
but your safe dreams will end as they always do”
What Our Enemies Know is out on the 20th January, the first release on Rumination Records, a label set-up by Cantor along with Dan Knishkowy (of Adeline Hotel) and Andrew Stocker (Horse Teeth).
Photo by Paul Moody