The one big headline that accompanies Stray Age, the debut album from Kentucky-based singer-songwriter Daniel Martin Moore, is that Sub Pop signed him based solely upon the strength of an unsolicited 4-song demo. And given Moore's humble songwriting and performing style, one might easily assume that this could be the only headline he's ever interested in making.
So understated is Stray Age, in fact, that it is at least initially difficult to hear what exactly sparked Sub Pop's immediate enthusiasm, as there is nothing about this music that exactly explodes out of the speakers. Co-produced by Joe Chiccarelli-- whose extensive credits include work with U2, Beck, and the Shins-- the album is so hushed and intimate that most of it sounds like it could have been recorded with Moore seated in his favorite chair beneath the backyard oak tree. Technically, Moore's gentle, folk-based Americana is not miles apart from labelmates Iron and Wine or Fleet Foxes, but there is a straightforward simplicity to his work that immediately positions him at the most sonically conservative end of the Sub Pop spectrum.
As a vocalist, Moore can call to mind a less-mannered Will Oldham, or perhaps what Mark Lanegan might've sounded like several thousand cigarettes ago. On Stray Age Moore's plainspoken vocals are frequently accompanied by little more than a lone acoustic guitar or piano, placing an enormous burden directly on the songs themselves. This is always a risky strategy, as it virtually guarantees that a handful of the better songs here will outshine the rest, patching the album with several minor dips and lulls. (Of course, it doesn't help that there is nothing particularly distinctive or memorable about any of Moore's homespun lyrics.) On the album's best tracks Moore is able to display an unforced, instinctive grace, giving his songs the necessary space to move so they can eventually steal in like shadows, lodging themselves firmly in the rafters of memory. Stray Age does feature several cameo appearances from guest musicians, including Petra Haden on violin, Justin Meldal-Johnsen on upright bass, and Jesca Hoop on backing vocals. In these spare surroundings, each subtle addition can make a crucial difference, such as the lift Haden's violin provides midway through "It's You" to pull the gentle love song out of its tranquil slumbers, or the way Hoop's bracing harmonies help "The Old Measure" sound downright frisky. Elsewhere, however, Moore keeps his music stripped to the essentials, an approach that succeeds on the richly melodic "By Dream" or the introspective title track, but that eventually stalls the album's momentum before the (perhaps appropriately) narcotic closing track "The Hour of Sleep" wheels around.
In addition to Moore's ten original songs, the album also includes a cover of Sandy Denny's "Who Knows Where the Time Goes", a track that serves as well as any to represent Stray Age's dreamy, wistful tenor. Well-rendered though this cover is, Moore does little to reinterpret or reinvent Denny's song to his own design, and in so doing illustrates a general disregard for innovation. Simply delivered and packaged, Stray Age requires a considerable amount of patience from its audience, and truth be told if it hadn't been for Sub Pop's patronage I probably wouldn't have given Moore as many chances as it took for even his best songs to sink in. Promising though Stray Age can be, next time hopefully Moore takes pains to make more headlines through his music itself.
