Moors & McCumber
Primary URL: https://www.moorsandmccumber.com/
Incredibly talented multi-instrumentalists, dedicated performers, prolific songwriters, and gifted and expressive vocalists, Moors & McCumber have wandered beyond good and into the elusive land of great. James Moors and Kort McCumber, based in Gold Hill, CO embrace a bigger sound than most duos, switching up instruments on almost every song, they create catchy melodies that are big, bright and electrifying to watch live! More than a decade into their musical pilgrimage, they continue to define, and redefine, their sound, their persona, their love for music and their unwavering commitment to bringing great music to listeners throughout the United States and Ireland. “Pandemonium” is the result. The first track on the CD is “Crack A Smile” and it’s a good heartfelt opener. The tone is set in the singer songwriter vein on this one, but there are lots of flavors on this as well, it has a storytelling narrative vocal but is essentially a love song. The strings stand out and more from where that comes from is already on the mind. It’s good stuff but on “You Take Me Somewhere,” they show where they’re really going. This is a completely different thing, very reminiscent of The Eagles at times, showing they can rock a little bit thus far, and I’ve never actually heard the bouzouki in country music that I recall, but it definitely works, adding a good layer of sound. It gives all the strings a jangly touch.
“Everything” is more of a pop laden tune with a strong country feel which doesn’t do much for me, but I could see this being on the radio, as well as the following track “No Way To live.” And it’s probably the most accessible/radio friendly track on the record. You really connect with the lyrics here, and just about anyone can relate so well it’s really a good track. The stripped back “Take Me Away” makes for good contrast, and “Bend Or Be Broken” is fun in a singalong way, the humor is infectious and the vocals stand out well with great duo outbursts. Another song just about anyone can relate to, with some excellent guitar work, it’s as good as anything else here. Then there is also the vocal heavy “Buried In The Earth” with a nice falsetto and some more great string work, with a cool build up. I also like “Best Of Intentions.” This is another one of the better songs as well as “If Living Was Easy,” which reminds a lot of Simon & Garfunkel, only with bouzouki, so, it isn’t all country. “All Great Tragedy” is one of the slower tracks but once again the lyrics are of that narrative quality you just can’t deny. It’s about losing yourself and chasing the dreams of others, never with great results. Once again the strings blend with precision here, and the vocals follow a traditional country style. As with most of the lyrics on this, they hit a home run here. This is a CD with that veteran country sound but containing everything that is modern it today’s country market, with several styles mixed throughout it. They never stick to one thing, but it stays together as one somehow, and it never misses a thing in the process. The final and title track “Pandemonium” is a surreal ballad that seals the deal well shut, it’s a finely crafted song which tops the disc off nicely.
BANDCAMP: https://moorsandmccumber.bandcamp.com/
Cory Frye
Score: 8/10