Moonrisers’ Debut ‘Harsh & Exciting’ Is a Folk Treasure

Moonrisers’ debut album, Harsh & Exciting, is a stirring invocation, which finds Libby DeCamp and Adam Schreiber utilizing instrumentation as their primary storytelling tool. Relying on DeCamp’s 1930s Slingerland May Bell parlor guitar and Schreiber’s century-old calfskin drum kit, Moonrisers craft a hypnotizing experience.

The contributions of bluegrass musicians Tim O’Brien and Chris Scruggs add subtle layers of mandolin, pedal steel, and banjo, enhancing the album’s musical complexity. Consequently, Moonrisers effectively fuse various musical influences without adhering to traditional conventions or a single genre. This genre-blurring approach uses tradition and innovation to evoke feeling and imagery musically.

DeCamp explains, “We wanted to connect with that kind of timelessness in nature through our old, rickety instruments.” Indeed, the opening track, “Circle of the Seasons“, reaffirms the natural world with a circular drum rhythm and melodious guitar. The combination depicts nature’s cyclic life, its heartbeat reinforced by the track’s rhythm.

The subsequent “Muddy Shores” shifts musically while maintaining thematic focus. The polyrhythmic drums emphasize their blues influences to induce a slower tempo. Whereas both tracks evoke movement, “Muddy Shores” uses auditory imagery to represent the slogging motion through mud. Accordingly, the first two tracks establish Harsh & Exciting as a sensory experience throughout their runtime. 

One of the album’s strongest qualities is the instrumentation’s ability to convey vibrant imagery without relying on lyrics to carry the message. The closing song, “Start on Foot”, for example, features a low, repeating guitar refrain. It delivers a sense of loneliness, underscored by chugging-along momentum in the drums. In doing so, the music illustrates a clear image of a solitary traveler.

Another striking example is evident in “All Your Hiding”. The minimalistic arrangement suggests a sense of reservation, of holding one’s breath. That creates a suspended atmosphere, especially as minor chords linger, revealing a feeling of guarded vulnerability. In these cases, the album is an immersive novel, inviting the listener to visualize their own experience within the duo’s created world.

Harsh & Exciting was recorded in Nashville and produced by the Black Keys‘ Dan Auerbach. His influence is subtle yet noticeable across the album, as heard in “I Came Here to Be Alone”. The song’s warmth and restraint allow the track’s guitar lines and soft percussion to set the tone. Here, the production style reflects Auerbach’s work on Yola‘s Walk Through Fire while hearkening back to DeCamp’s ‘rickety instruments.’

Similarly, in “Lift Him Up/Mother’s Last Words”, Auerbach helps shape a spiritual, almost gospel-like atmosphere without overproducing it. Including subtle backing textures and ambient sounds around the instruments creates a sense of reverence. In both songs, Auerbach shapes Harsh & Exciting while enabling Moonrisers to define their aesthetic.

The album’s title, Harsh & Exciting, poses an unintentional question: Is anything about this album harsh? In short, nothing is, except for the Moonrisers categorizing themselves as a doom folk band. While the music is exciting, it is halcyon. Whereas the LP draws upon diverse musical styles, including folk, blues, jazz, gospel, and classic Western, doom metal is noticeably absent. Even in its most raucous moments, the album resists being abrasive.

The title track exemplifies this contradiction. Rather than delivering harshness in tone or texture, it offers a contemplative and serene musical space. Its tension is quiet and internal rather than abrasive, elements recalling Mary Oliver’s poem “Wild Geese“. Here, Oliver writes, “Whoever you are, no matter how lonely / The world offers itself to your imagination / Calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting.” In this context, “harsh and exciting” doesn’t refer to aggression but to seeing a damaged and beautiful world. As Moonrisers invite listeners to align solace with awareness, Harsh & Exciting embodies Oliver’s ethos. 

Accordingly, Moonrisers don’t rely on volume, filler, or clamor to make an impact. Instead, Harsh & Exciting requires deep listening and attentiveness to reveal texture, emotionality, and intention. In doing so, the album draws the listener into the duo’s world, creating a fully immersive and worthwhile sonic connection.