We were so taken back by the recent record by this Bay Area brother duo that we were inclined to have this conversation with them to fill in a few gaps and get to know them a little bit. Murdered By The Moore Brothers is a DNA manifesto of unison and harmony singing that equals any of the sibling sounds it calls to mind and the singing duos of history. To be a group or a duo one can say that about takes a keen sense of detail and excellent intonation, attributes these brothers have in spades. Originally from Southern CA, they migrated North in their teens, one brother following the other, as often happens.
Their songs are very whimsical and arty, and this sets them apart from any brother duo I can recall. They come from the pop side of the tracks, but have punk, art and dada rock very audible in their backgrounds, and less of the country, folk or bluegrass orientation that one is infinitely more likely to find.
Murdered is their fourth full-length release together, though each has also released several side projects, annotated in our conversation. Thom and Greg were very engaging and eloquent people. They have a balanced and almost puzzlingly easygoing approach to their very singular music, which is quite unto itself and rather shockingly good.
Although their ability to make immaculately sparse and pristine recordings is truly arresting, their melodic bent also calls for more orchestration (maybe strings, rather than a combo, for instance) to my ear, and we hope to soon hear more fleshed-out arrangements of their music in the future.
This record was made in Grass Valley, CA, with Jhon Renoir, the grandson of the legendary painter. It certainly promises to be one of our favorite records this year.
