First writing back in May, we described how Star Moles, AKA Philadelphia multi-instrumentalist Emily Moales, has developed a vast collection of releases since 2017, a body of work which both embraces the DIY spirit of bedroom pop and defies its established formula. “The oeuvre is a lesson in the potential of [the genre],” as we wrote, “refusing to settle for genre conventions to push the style in new directions.”
The new Star Moles release Snack Monster bears the fruit of such a mindset, with singles like ‘Key Changes’ actively pushing against expectations. A song which embodies Moales’s “growing boredom with idealised romance of polished pop,” as we continued, “choosing to instead get its hands dirty and dig into the messy guts of what love really means.” Or indeed follow-up single ‘Fate’, what we’ve described as a mission statement for the release. “A song which looks to address contemporary neuroses via traditional styles,” we wrote, “looking to break free from the strictures of established narratives and reclaim agency from the impression of predetermination.”
With the album out now via Earth Libraries, Star Moles has returned with a brand new single, ‘Tides’, and the track is every bit as impressive. Originally the release was intended as something of a concept album, with Moales coming across Andreas Capellanus’s Rules of Courtly Love during a course on medieval literature and deciding to write a song for each rule. There being more than thirty rules meant this was always an ambitious aim, so instead Snack Monster formed around specific points in the list which especially caught the eye. Like the second rule, around which ‘Tides’ formed: “He who is not jealous cannot love.” The resulting track is upbeat yet conflicted, caught in the competing forces of fondness and bitterness which comprise any envious character and never quite surrending to either.