Ears Wide Open: Moses Sumney
Seraphina Lotkhamnga on
3
Moses Sumney is a soulful one-man show with vocal percussion, handclaps and harmonies on loop, and his guitar strumming is intricate and heartfelt as the riffs he sings. After purchasing an old guitar from a friend, Sumney began to make a name for himself with a charismatic take on R&B-influenced folk-rock. Songs like “Alchemy” and the new “Dwell in the Dark” are introspective and wonderfully vulnerable, specialties that may have carried over from his time as a creative writing major at UCLA. Heck, even his cover of the Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha” is sincere and positively smooth. But you’ll have to catch one of his acoustic live sets to experience that special gem.
||| Stream: “Dwell in the Dark”
||| Live: Moses Sumney is direct support for KING every Monday throughout June at the Bootleg (early show, doors at 7 p.m.)
Photo by Emilio Guerra
Awesome show! Can’t wait to hear what’s next from this guy.
[…] No artist in recent memory has gone from zero to must-see more quickly than Sumney [pictured above in a composite photograph made by Kelsey Heng]. First spotted as the opening act for KING’s residency at the Bootleg in June, Sumney creates evocative folk-soul and is a one-man spectacle live, using multiple microphones and live-looped handclaps and vocal percussion, guitar and background vocals. Even without a manager, label or other handlers, Sumney has made a huge impression – including guesting at Beck’s “Song Reader” show at Disney Hall and at a slew of choice opening gigs. [Previously.] […]
[…] ||| Previously: “Lonely World,” “Quarrel,” “Worth It,” “Everlasting Sigh,” “Seeds,” “Man On The Moon,” Ears Wide Open […]