“…even though we are not yet together, Moses Sumney is with me, booming through the system of my rental at this very moment. The plucking bassline of “Cut Me,” the latest single from his newest album, græ: Part 1, is gently vibrating the car and everything in it as if trying to wake us all from a pleasant slumber. The song is full but spacious, stacked in sonic tiers that overlay one another without overlapping. Brass lines are restrained and muted—more trombone and French horn than trumpet and saxophone—and where other funk horns sting, these do something closer to making a clean incision in the softest part of your flesh. The heat and the concrete and the vast deserted sea of Los Angeles can make you feel crazy. But other times the sun is so imminently hopeful as to make even the act of suffering feel beautiful. That is how this city takes up residence in you. And Moses Sumney is perfect for this vibe.” ( more…)