TRACK REVIEW: Moses Sumney - Virile

TRACK REVIEW:

Moses Sumney

PHOTO CREDIT: Laura McCluskey

Virile

9.3/10

The track, Virile, is available from:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Cq8zRq0G9I

GENRES:

Electro-Soul/Folk

ORIGIN:

California, U.S.A.

RELEASE DATE:

14th November, 2019

LABEL:

Jagjaguwar

The album, græ, is available from 15th May, 2020. Pre-order here:

https://www.secretlystore.com/grae-moses-sumney

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WHILST many are looking at this year and the…

PHOTO CREDIT: Elizabeth Weinberg for The New York Times

amazing music that has arrived, I am looking forward to the artists who will define 2020. Not only has Moses Sumney enjoyed a career that has seen him working alongside Beck and Solange, but he has also toured with James Blake. Sumney is also looking to the New Year and his album, græ. There is speculation as to who will be releasing material next year, and there are a few artists I would like to see bring out albums. With momentum behind him, there are a lot of people looking forward to Moses Sumney and his next move. Aromanticism was released in 2017 and gained a lot of positive reviews from critics. I will discuss that album in a minute but, as we look to see what next year will provide in terms of music, Sumney is preparing his second album. Here, we learn about græ and what to expect:

“Moses Sumney evades definition as an act of duty: technicolor videos and monochrome clothes; Art Rock and Black Classical; blowing into Fashion Week from a small town in North Carolina; seemingly infinite collaborators, but only one staggering voice. A young life spent betwixt Southern California and Accra, Ghana — not so much rootless as an epyphite, an air plant. The scale is cinematic but the moves are precise deeds of art and stewardship. Sumney’s new, generous album, græ, is an assertion that the undefinable still exists and dwelling in it is an act of resistance.

There’s probably a biblical analogy to be made about a person who just happens to be named Moses, who flees the binary, splits a massive body into two pieces, and leads us through the in-between — holy and wholly rebellious. By breaking up græ into two multifaceted, dynamic pieces, Sumney is quite literally creating a "grey" in-between space for listeners to absorb and consider the art. Not strictly singles, not strictly albums, never altogether songs or spoken word segments on their own. It's neither here nor there. Neither/Nor, if you will”.

The album is not out until May, so we have a bit of a wait! Regardless, many are already excited to see what Sumney can produce after such a stunning and confident debut. I think one of the reasons an album like Aromanticism resonated is because of its unconventional nature. The title sort of gives it away: Sumney writing from an unusual perspective and not necessarily penning traditional love songs and that romantic ideal. When it comes to artists, labels will try to pull them in various directions and try to mould them into something accessible and rather ordinary. Sumney is not someone who necessarily feels romantic longing and cliché love songs are a good thing. Music is still dominated by these types of songs and, whilst it provides comfort to many, there are many who cannot and do not want to relate to them. As he explained with The New York Times in 2017, he grew tired of the love song:

“A lot of people were trying to pull me in a very pop direction. That’s immediately where most people saw me,” he recalled over breakfast earlier this month at the Soho Grand. Instead, he realized, “I didn’t have to go there. I could go weirder.”

“I’ve never been in love, in romantic love,” Mr. Sumney elaborated. Tall, with mini-dreadlocks and chiseled features, he was dressed, as he often is, in black: a sleeveless mesh shirt, pleated trousers. “I have experienced romantic attraction to varying degrees, and I have platonic love, and I obviously love music. But romantic love is its own genre, and that is something that I have never experienced full-blown.”

He added, “I was just bored with the love song, the idea of the love song as the archetype, and also the culture that suggests romantic love is the end-all and be-all of human existence. I wanted to question and challenge that on a personal level and on the social level — the personal is the social. I think I just felt alienated by the idea of pursuing romantic love. And I never fully saw myself in love songs, although I enjoy them. But I was wondering, what else is there?”

It might sound odd that an artist wants to eschew love and writing songs with lust and romance at their heart. If you have never felt romantic love or been in a relationship, it seems weird to write as if you have and, for many, that desire of togetherness is not what drives them. I am not sure whether Sumney’s forthcoming album changes that and he has, since his debut, fallen into a relationship. I do get a little weary of the overload we have in music; the raft of songs concerning romance, passion and heartbreak. It can get so predictable, and what of people who are not in relationships or those who feel they do not want to be defined by a relationship? In some ways, Sumney is rebelling against the expectations of many. I would say that the vast majority of artists write about love and relationships at some point in their careers. As we are becoming more educated regarding different sexual preferences and mental-health, solitude and loneliness should not be stigmatised or ignored. There are those who feel more comfortable on their own, so their music is more likely to explore that. If you are listening to songs concerning splits or those who are in love, how are people going to relate if it does not chime true to them? Where are the artists who are discussing being alone or not chasing that romantic avenue? Sumney was asked about the romantic ideal in an interview with FADER in 2017; how it can be bad for our mental-health to subscribe to the notion that we all need to be in a relationship:

“In the book Against Love, author Laura Kipnis breaks down how our society’s obsession with romantic love is unhealthy. Do you think the romantic ideal can be bad for mental health?

When you’re conditioned to look at something as normal, the sadness that can come from not being able to obtain that is super taxing on your mental health. But also, you can be in situations that are psychologically fucking you up, but there’s a commitment to stay with that, because that’s what you’re “meant to do.” You get absent fathers, or moms with post-partum depression. It’s complex, because humans are social creatures, and I actually do think we need other people in order to feel sane. It’s really unhealthy, the idea that you need another half to make you whole, but also I don’t think it’s particularly healthy to totally self-isolate. There needs to be a balance, and I don’t think there is, currently.

PHOTO CREDIT: Alexander Black

Moses was born in San Bernardino, a city an hour east of L.A.; at the age of 10, his parents, both pastors, moved the family back to their home country of Ghana for six years. It was a time that was tinged with homesickness for him, defined by the CDs his dad would bring back from the U.S. Moses taught himself to sing by carefully copying the runs and adlibs of Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, and Usher. He wrote his own songs from the age of 12, but kept it a secret, hiding his songbook under his mattress. “None of my friends knew that I wanted to sing,” says Moses. “I was a loner; I’d ride my bike around with some other guys from the neighborhood sometimes, but I didn’t have a lot of school friends. But [Ghana] taught me how to spend time alone, which is something everybody needs to learn.”

To play devil’s advocate, what would you say to someone who asked: “Why write about aromanticism when the world needs more love right now”?

Saying the words “the world needs more love” — using those words as a political device to imply that love all round is going to produce equality — is ignorant and unrealistic. The problem with the world is not that people who are different don’t have enough “love” for each other. The problem is that the people with power insist on using it, and maintaining it for themselves. Ultimately, when people say “we need more love,” what they are telling oppressed people is that they need to love the person that’s killing them. And what do they have to gain from that? A clear conscience? Some promise that in the afterlife, after they’ve been murdered by the people taking resources from them, that they’ll go to heaven because they have warmth in their hearts? It [goes back to] what we were talking about earlier with “Quarrel” — someone can love you and still be oppressing you, still not listen to your voice. Emphasizing love is a waste of time. What we need to emphasize is the dissemination of power, and a deconstruction of hierarchical structures that keep people at the bottom, and keep others at the top.

PHOTO CREDIT: Aaron Sinclair

One can say that the world needs more love right now, for sure, but that does not necessarily mean we all need to be in relationships to make that happen. I think we all need to be more understanding and patient with the world. Sumney does not reject physicality and sex. Instead, he feels that one should follow their own path and not feel pressured to conform to what society feels is normal and typical. When Aromanticism arrived, many critics were impressed by Moses Sumney, as he was not doing what so many of his peers were. It would have been easy for anyone else to express their pains and joys about love and give the impression that a relationship is what they need to be happy. Sumney took a different approach and, whilst he was red-bloodied and engaging through the album, that never translated into someone who wanted to settle down or find comfort in a relationship. This review from The Guardian explains more:

“It’s unlikely, however, that Bieber would make a concept album about the nuances of being aromantic – the inability to feel romantic attraction. Sumney might sound swoonsome, but he’s singing about one-night stands, the narcissism of emotional detachment and the nuances of lovelessness. He is particularly tired of the age-old notion that humans need to find a soulmate in order to feel happy and complete. “I don’t reject romantic love,” says Sumney. “I believe that it exists for some people, but some people will never have it and that can negatively manifest within you.” Sumney wrote the album from a place of familiarity. As he asks on the track, Doomed: “Am I vital if my heart is idle?”

While all that might sound like some grave aftereffect of years spent swiping dating apps, Sumney finds optimism in ambiguity. The latter applies both to his genreless music (some Prince-like and sensual; one, Quarrel, like a warped James Bond song) and his identity. At one point, when I ask for his age, he replies: “I’m in my 20s but nobody ever gets it right and it’s perfect for me.” He is self-aware and sardonic, but he also recognises that at any given moment, people can change. On whether he is romantically inclined himself or not, he says, cryptically: “I think the idea that I am, and I am not, is what’s interesting”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Laura McCluskey

I am bringing in a few interviews and talking about loneliness, because it is quite unusual in music. Not that it is the defining characteristic of Mosey Sumney, but he is someone who will give guidance and strength to others who do not want to fit into narrow moulds and write like everyone else. Many might assume that his music is quite bleak and defeatist, it is very deep and thought-provoking. Sumney is moved by passion, but that does not mean he wants to be committed or feels that is what makes him human. He has a love of art, philosophy and words; he is a stylish artist and someone who has a lot of different sides. There are few out there right now who are as engaging and fascinating as Mosey Sumney. It seems that Sumney uses music, in a way, of explaining who he is or revealing his inner-most self in a way he could not otherwise do. In an interview with SSENSE, he was asked about his childhood and the fact he always wanted to be involved with music:

“I’ve read past interviews where you talked about how being picked on as a child for singing in front of your classmates made you insecure about performing, even though you always knew you’d be a musician. Are you feeling more secure now?

t definitely feels better now. It feels like I’m a real person. It feels like I’m doing a thing that I was placed on this Earth to do. I find myself connecting more with my own kind of idiosyncratic nature. And that’s what I love about people like Grace Jones and Nina Simone. Or Björk, you know. People who are just weirdos. I see what they’re doing and it feels like both beyond the boundaries of what we know of human nature to be able to produce, but also honest, and natural, and innate at the same time. Which feels undefinable.

PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Gyamfi

Although there is a nod towards philosophy towards the end of his debut album, it is a bit of a revelation. On Aromanticism, there is such depth and so many songs that move you and dig incredibly deep. There are few records as compelling, intelligent and nuanced than Aromanticism. Not only does Aromanticism stray away from the rather routine and boring love songs; Sumney talks about self-identification and touches on philosophy:

One way you’ve defined your identity in the media is by presenting your own personality via the ideas of others. You prefaced your last record with an examination of Aristophanes, and then on the record itself, you have a song called “Stoicism.” Where does your interest in Greek mythology and philosophy come from?

It’s so funny, because I think the record makes it seem like it’s been a deep interest of mine, but it only really emerged towards the end of making the record. I wanted to contextualize it in a way that reached beyond modern times.

We’re in such a place where people are [self-]identifying more than ever before, and that feels so modern to people, especially to the old guard. I wanted to contextualize identification as something that has always happened. We’ve always been looking for ways to define and describe ourselves, or ways to give cultural significance to our personal feelings. And so I needed to reach beyond when any of us were born to say, like, these concepts I’m thinking about have been around forever”.

IN THIS PHOTO: Tonje Thilesen

I will move on to talk about Moses Sumney’s latest track soon enough, but I wanted to discuss a few more sides to the man. I am very much in the present and engaged with what he is doing now. However, to get a full sense of who Sumney is and where he has come from, it is important to look back at his debut and the themes discussed. What strikes me about Moses Sumney is the fact that he is very human and flawed, yet there is something very spiritual, otherworldly and extraordinary about him. These contrasts make his music fascinating, and one is treated to an artist who is so different to anyone else out there. I have read quite a few interviews Sumney has conducted and I am always fascinated and hooked. He speaks in such a way that you are gripped and immersed in his world. I want to bring in an interview he gave to Clash Magazine, where he talked about keeping a dream journal; also how he was quite an ambivalent human and creator:

“The notion of dreams, too, is integral to the record; each song billows out, processing thoughts and emotions in often outlandish ways, a form of songwriting that works with an emotional, not mathematical, logic.

He tells Clash: “I don’t always remember my dreams but I started keeping a dream journal about a year ago, to document and remember as much as I could. Sometimes I write songs in my sleep - I’ll hear music and then get up and write it. I’ll have weirdly prophetic dreams. I think they’re definitely really important.”

“The sounds would emerge or present themselves as we would go along,” he explains. “But it was most important to me to start songs on my own before bringing in powerful collaborators, and that was the way that I could maintain my ideas. In terms of aesthetics, certainly.”

“I can feel satisfied and content but… that goes away,” Moses says at one point in our conversation. “I feel like a very ambivalent person - like, I can feel everything at different times. Everything I say about myself, the opposite will, at some point, become true. I don’t know. I’m curious to see how other people view that, how other people respond to that, because life is long”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Kinfolk

There is a lot to unpack when it comes to Moses Sumney, and he is clearly a deep thinker and original artist who warrants a lot of respect and time. I do like the fact Sumney does not follow everyone else when it comes to songwriting themes, and he has this need for solitude that does not mean he excludes other people. I do think it is hard to maintain a relationship and, for many, romantic commitment is not a goal of theirs. His debut album explored sex, but there was never this feeling that things had to lead to a serious relationship. Indeed, on his latest outing, Virile, the lyrics are fascinating and make you wonder. It is from his forthcoming album, and it (the track) is among his most arresting and interesting cuts. I have listened to the song a few times and am still investigating the lyrics and what each line could mean. Moses Sumney is intellectual and passionate, but he also has this very cool and stylish side. If you look at the photos in this review, one can see Sumney is very fashionable and looks great. Maybe it is not directly relevant to his music, but I wanted to bring in one last interview, where the journalist talks about Sumney’s grab after he has completed his photo shoot:

“The Los Angeles-based musician has just finished his Crack Magazine photo shoot, and he’s wearing a sharp ensemble of drapey black fabrics and small, round sunglasses. He’s immediately striking and as we speak his softly spoken demeanour commands attention. At the same time, he possesses an instant warmth, an aptitude for listening intently to what others have to say, and a dry wit.

“What we allow black men to do and the way we allow them to perform in terms of the way they dress, talk and express themselves is more limited compared to the ways that other men are allowed to perform,” he says. “There are things about the way I dress that would be more remarkable to people if I looked different, but I just don’t let that influence my style”.

The relationship between the seen and the unseen is a reccurring theme in Sumney’s aesthetic, and it seems to be the uniting factor in both his music and style. “I think that everything that we don’t understand with clarity is worth investigating,” he tells me”.

PHOTO CREDIT: Shayan Asgharnia

Opening with wordless vocals and a combination of pointed piano notes and dreamy harp, there is a mix of emotions that open Virile. (I would suggest people watch the video for the song, as it is pretty eye-opening). In terms of the lyrics and their meaning, each listener will have their own thoughts; the truth does not reveal itself instantly, and there is a sense of ambiguity. I do like how the song opens and gets you curious right from the off. Sumney has always blended sounds and genres to create something very much his own. On Virile, there is that integration of the charged and tender. His delivery is soulful and impassioned. Rather than simply spit the words out or deliver them in a very ordinary way, Sumney seems to feel every thought and puts his all into every word. “On the long hike through Blue Ridge Mountains/I can feel the earth move”. One gets the impression of Sumney hiking and exploring nature, but maybe that is not the case; perhaps he is using mountains as a metaphor. Indeed, there is a feeling of mortality creeping in. Sumney discusses the fact that none of this matters because one day he will return to dust and matter. It may sound bleak, but there is so much beauty in his voice. I am not sure what compelled the song and its creation. One gets a feeling of peace in Sumney’s voice; in the pre-chorus, one gets this gorgeous elongation and sense of uplift. It is hard to describe, but there is dreaminess to the vocals and this rush of energy. It is a gorgeous sound. Despite the luminous and bright feel to the music and vocals, the lyrics in the chorus suggest something a little more anxious or pained. When singing “You've got the wrong guy/You wanna slip right in/Amp up the masculine/You've got the wrong idea, son”, I wondered what Sumney was referring to. Through all of this, the virility fades, and there is this sense of mystery to the words. When I said the words were quite oblique and everyone could make up their own minds, there is this mystery and detachment.

PHOTO CREDIT: Sam Keeler

“Dear son/We pick our own prisons” summons up images straight away, but I was not entirely sure what Sumney was referencing. I have talked a lot about how Sumney writes of loneliness and does not subscribe to the perception that we all need to be with someone to find meaning. Maybe there is a nod to that in the lyrics, yet his vocal twisting and passion sort of takes your mind somewhere else. Sumney is masterful when it comes to giving his words such character and attention. He goes from high to low notes; from fast to slow and, through it all, you dive into the song and try to walk alongside him. The pre-chorus swings back around – “Cheers to the patriarchs/And the marble arch/Playin' their part/The gatekeeper's march” –, and I had to listen a few times to see if I could figure what Sumney was singing about. Maybe there is this rebellion against being defined and what makes a man. Maybe Sumney feels like he needs to be a family man or he needs to follow society’s beat. Sumney never gives too much away, but one gets the sense that he is this false impression of him or he has to live a certain way. I love the vocals – Sumney’s strongest suit – and how there are so many dips and rises. He is one of the most expressive singers around and this all comes out on Virile. It is a fantastic track and a tantalising window into what we can expect from græ.

I am not sure whether Moses Sumney has tour dates coming up; one feels he will be relaxing as we head to the end of the year. 2019 has been quiet busy for him, and he is getting ready for græ. The album is a fair few months away, yet I urge people to investigate it when it arrives. So many journalists are asking which albums we are most looking forward to next year; the artists we hope will release new stuff. I think Moses Sumney’s upcoming album will be among 2020’s best, and few artists will match him when it comes to originality and quality. I shall leave things be in a second. It is amazing to see Moses Sumney grow and bring the world this incredible music. I think he is one of these artists that will continue to produce albums and grow stronger. I have talked a lot about Sumney and how he covers loneliness and refutes romantic love. It sort of makes him sound cold but, in reality, he is simply saying how, for some, being in a relationship is not what makes them complete. I do think the raft of love songs has put this pressure on people to be in a relationship or highlights how this is normal; anyone who is not in a relationship is somehow flawed or unusual. Credit to Sumney for following his own path and giving power and voice that those who feel the same way as him. Virile is a terrific track and a taste of what is to come on his sophomore album. In terms of themes, one would expect him to keep on exploring the notion of self and love; maybe there will be some more political edges but, whatever he brings to us, you just know it is going to be hot! I shall leave things here, but I want people to follow Sumney on social media and keep track of his musical progression. He is a terrific artist who makes music that is…