Stream: The Moth & the Flame, ‘Only Just Begun’

Kevin Bronson on January 18th, 2019

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“Only Just Begun,” the new single from the Moth & the Flame, is a capsule of everything the L.A.-via-Utah alt-rockers do well: brawny bass and guitar, cinematic synths and stadium-ready dynamics backing Brandon Robbins’ pleading vocals. In this case, Robbins obliquely references the band’s reboot after a fallow period following their debut full-length, “Young & Unafraid,” released almost two years ago.

“‘Only Just Begun’ is about learning to enjoy the journey,” Robbins told Ones to Watch, where the song premiered. “It’s easy to get caught up in the idea that ‘once such and such happens I’ll be happy,’ but that’s not how it works at all. You have to learn how to live in the moment, excited for the future and grateful for the past.”

That perspective, which informs much of the new album “Ruthless” (out Feb. 1), was gained after Robbins took time off in December 2016 to donate a kidney to the ailing Corey Fox, proprietor of Velour, the all-ages venue in TMTF’s hometown of Provo. The surgery proved successful, but the recovery period left Robbins’ bandmates Mark Garbett and Andrew Tolman in a holding pattern.

“It completely transformed every aspect of the band,” Robbins says. ”I have a huge and profound respect for Mark and Andrew, for their patience and essentially their willingness to let me do this knowing it would lead to such a long break for the band.”

The album was produced by Grammy-winning Peter Katis (The National, Interpol, Kurt Vile, Stars) and includes the previously released single “The New Great Depression.”

||| Stream: “Only Just Begun”