A passionate voice currently whipping up a genre-bending maelstrom in the underground, Mothgirl’s fiercely unapologetic sound spurs intense emotion. A naturally gifted artist with an incredible singing voice, Moth razes soundscapes with each and every song that they drop.
The focal point of this artist insight is going to be Moth’s voice, which is nothing short of beautiful. There’s a real fullness to it, bursting with new life and quivering with barely-contained emotion. ‘Lonomia Obliqua’ definitely has vocal effects, but these aren’t masking a flat performance. Labeled as ‘emo mothrap’, the song makes use of a crunchy, melodic beat that acts as a springboard for some seriously impressive vocal acrobatics. While Moth’s voice leans towards the dramatic, it never sounds silly or over the top. On her newest song ‘Liar!!’, Moth creates a guitar-addled hyperpop track that suits her foghorn-volume voice very well. The production here (courtesy of Immortal) is a blend of 2000’s emo/pop punk and modern day digicore. The lyrics are vindictive and filled with contempt, appropriate for a song that combines two such volatile genres together. With assistance from Nachi and Nari, Moth weaves a tale of betrayal and manipulation by a person that she rightfully wants to see suffer: ‘I hope you think of me til the day that you die, never forget the tears that you made me cry’. It’s a classic revenge anthem that will likely be a cathartic moment for anyone coming out of such a situation themselves.
That’s far from the extent of Moth’s skill as a writer, however. Another Nari collaboration, ‘My Gutz R Pretty, Wna See??’ features incredibly visceral, painstakingly personal lyricism: ‘I wanna drown in the blood of the lamb. Pierce my palm, lick the blood off my hand. My guts are violet, royal purple. All this bile, choking, I’m so fertile for your love’. Whether the Christian imagery is intentional as a metaphor for rebirth or not, this song is quite the experience. The Robert Smith-esque vocals used in Moth’s section give the track a gothic tinge that soon collapses into quasi-hypnagogic pop as the track’s finale opens Pandora’s Box into a terrifying void of sound. The scenecore aesthetic of the song only makes its moments of intensity all the more powerful and nostalgic.
Moth’s projects are well worth examining, too. April’s Headfuzz EP feature tracks that are one part electropop, one part post-punk like ‘Ruby’ & ‘Sapphire’, pitched-up vocals and throat-shredding screams dotting the synthy, off-kilter apt9 beats. Her lengthier mixtape in May feature jazzy cloud-rap (‘Lobby’), a John Maus-cum-DJ Smokey-sounding cut (‘Pandora’s Box’), vaportrap excellence (‘washedout’) and straight up Drain-Gang inspired material (‘Funeral Procession’). It’s amazing to me that such a variance in sound can be heard on two such lowkey projects, and all I can do is my part in drawing attention to such incredible talent when I find it. If any of this has sounded interesting to you, I implore you to give Mothgirl’s discography a listen. The treasures held within are well concealed, but when they reveal themselves to you it’ll be hard to imagine a world without them.
Listen to ‘My Gutz R Pretty’ & Headfuzz below and check out Moth’s SoundCloud for the rest.
Follow her on Twitter here.
– Chris (@108seraph)
108MICS 