It is hard to believe that we are closing in on winter, but I Have A Tribe has made an album that musically incarnates the season. Each song of Beneath A Yellow Moon is like a fallen snowflake. It is a clear, gently crystallized ode to the romance of life during this colder season.
Stunningly intimate, I Have A Tribe is the project of Irish Dubliner Patrick O’Laoghaire . the project was his attempt to show virtues, like compassion, through a fluid arrangement of thoughts over a piano. The project is successful through its simplicity and well-rounded verbosity. O’Laoghaire is a down-to-earth spirit, which makes his words and voice always appear meek, as if he bows before life in reverence. Thus, I Have A Tribe does not use his vocal range to impress with power as much as potency.
I Have A Tribe has a voice that feels private. This may be an odd term to describe a man’s voice, but his vocals are soft and gentle like a man trying to share a quiet conversation. He wants every thought and feeling in his being to sway from him like a winter’s wind, and caress you with its crisp delicacy. Listeners will love how O’Laoghaire is musically whispering to you his secret philosophies on life. His vocals call for you to grab a plush blanket, make some cocoa, and pull up a chair by a window to stair at the night sky. His picturesque observations to both human and environmental nature, like in “Scandinavia”, are nothing less than lovely. Beneath A Yellow Moon was a good title to concretize the fantastical simplicity that makes this album croon you into its arms.
One of the loveliest things about winter is the snug of its warmth. Yes, the actual season is bitingly cold, yet as you put warm layers on and see yourself being coddled by a pile of heated textures, you feel safe and serene. It is that type of feeling you gain with Beneath A Yellow Moon. It carries a blessed feeling even while encapsulating the darkness of winter. Lyrical clouds do appear like in “Battle Hardened Pacifist”, which is the tale of the bitter optimism that can take over a man consistently fighting for the good of humanity. This track, like the extraordinary “La Neige”, show I Have A Tribe’s expressive annunciations, which add a layer of spontaneity through his words. While artists rely on their voice, rhythm, or a lyric, he relies on how a word is said…. not what is said. The difference is staggering and, in part, why his record is a winter wonderland. While his lyrics rivet, the piano rises to create its own voice to harmonize with O’Laoghaire.
The piano has, for long, been considered the heart of music. It is the structural foundation to so many songs, and I Have A Tribe uses its twinkled sonics to capture the snowiness of winter. As he trudges through love in songs like “After We Meet” and “Tango”, his words become footprints on heavy snow, but manage to keep light in step thanks to his wistful piano arrangements. Not too many records have come out, at least recently, to remind you of how pretty a particular instrument can be. Thus, Beneath A Yellow Moon is also an album for those that love the piano. Each track of this record is driven solely by a piano melody, which will re-introduce you to this instrument’s exhilarating capacities to make you drift in sound and speak to it like it were an actual being. Still, it is I Have A Tribe’s voice that reifies the marvel of winter: even in its darkness, it glistens.
Winter is a season for storms that leave dirty streets covered in pure white, and convert night skies to be shrouded in grey but sprinkled with starry light. In essence, Beneath A Yellow Moon is an album that symbolizes how a spirit can still shine even in the cold, dark moments of life. You will walk away from Beneath A Yellow Moon in awe of I Have A Tribe’s intuitive approach to music. While many might not, immediately, categories this records’s spirit as soulful: it most definitely is! Although it may not have funkadelic beats or raw riffs of emotion, it elevates the subtly of sentiment that can course through a spirit going through life. That type o spirituality is what give I Have A Tribe the compassionate notes he needs to take you into the many love he carries in his heart. For More Information on I Have A Tribe or to Buy Beneath A Yellow Moon on October 14, Click Here.
