Steve Moore — Beloved Exile
Opening with gently arpeggiated synths and lush, Middle Eastern chants, "Your Sentries Will Be Met With Force" shows an expansive array of sound, and marks the path with which Beloved Exile will unfold its majestic soundscape. While this is Moore's return to non-soundtrack work, Beloved Exile is built very much like a film, and "Sentries" is a sweeping, expanding introduction to the acts that follow. "In the Shelter of the Dunes" opens up the tonality a bit more with the introduction of strings, and what feels like a turn toward a medieval European sound. Thick, warm, oscillating synths breathe from the background adding an extra sense of loss to this fairly wistful piece. Interestingly, "Sentries" felt more in the dunes than "Dunes," but no matter, as the songs are both excellent. Holding down the third spot on the album, the title track moves a bit more quickly and more into the synthwave realm than the previous songs. Brightly opening up the album even further, Moore's subtle shift in tone and rhythm fit in wonderfully with the more ambient pieces, and are an excellent bridge not only between songs on the album, but between Beloved Exile and the rest of his oeuvre. There are a lot of similar tones and themes used on Beloved Exile, and Moore skillfully uses these to weave the songs together to make a gorgeous, well composed album. "Throne Lane" resurrects elements from earlier pieces, shifts the tone down a hair, and puts its own spin on the material. Like a great companion to "Dunes," "Throne" feels more European in tone than the opener, although with a bit more space and expanse than "Dunes." Three times as long as any of the previous songs, the final track, "My Time Among the Snake Lords," has enough time to use its luxurious oscillations to sweep, grow, fill, and build. The soundscape it brings forth feels both primal and futuristic, both Earth bound and alien, and both sedentary and locomotive. "Snake Lords" keeps in line with the rest of Beloved Exile, but also extends the scope of the work far beyond what the initial four songs teased. Almost a connected EP unto itself, "Snake Lords" is a wonderful showcase of Moore's talent and vision.
After five years away from non-soundtrack work, Steve Moore's Beloved Exile is a delightful return to full album form. Although fairly short for a full length, this album makes the best use of its run time and never wastes a moment. The tracks all interweave in glorious fashion, and Moore's adroitness with composition and arrangement are highly on display.