CD Review by Adam Wujtewicz
Most people will probably call Moxie a "modernization" of Daphne Lee Martin's previous Raise the Rent material. I'm going to rebuke those people as lazy. Moxie is far too expansive to be written off with a single word like 'modernized'. Yes, it draws trace elements from what made the Raise the Rent material great, but it trims away all the pomp of the old timey southern swing and builds the core concept into cyborg that has tools to accomplish most any task. You could list the styles and influences on Moxie but you'd more than likely run out of ink and sound lazy again before you finished. The truth is that there is no genre that would adequately describe this record.
What will strike you first is how electrified these songs are. Synth, effected electric guitar, digital delays, samples and some interesting post production trick (here's a hint listen to this record through headphones) are completely new tricks that Daphne and the crew at Fuzzy Rainbow Productions have incorporated to propel her forward.
From what we have previously heard from Daphne, her writing style doesn't necessarily lend itself to using electronic elements but with a little studio alchemy there is cohesion and the formation of something new. When psyche and soul are blended she keeps the piano straddling lounge imagery she's used before without using the same style of music. The smoky basement vibe is pushed straight into your face making it more visceral and less like movie magic. There are songs, like "A Little Bit", and interludes, like the one in the middle of "Cheers, Darlin' ". that seem a little more like dream sequences than real life but this keeps Moxie from being mired in a seedy atmosphere that songs like "Whiskey and Sin" and "Sweet & Low Down" create.
The other side of that coin is Daphne's use of the old instruments and structures to create new imagery. "Molotov" is a familiar shuffle and features an impressive banjo solo but unlike the bright lights and honkytonks that may have come to mind before, they now seem to call for speeding trains through driving rain. Both of those scenarios may be metaphors for freedom or in the long run regret, they are completely different ways of expressing them and for the listener, feeling them.
Moxie is a such a huge step forward you'd think it would leave little room for Daphne to maneuver in the future but it's true beauty is that is opens up so many doors that there is no limit to the avenues she could pursue.
Most people will probably call Moxie a "modernization" of Daphne Lee Martin's previous Raise the Rent material. I'm going to rebuke those people as lazy. Moxie is far too expansive to be written off with a single word like 'modernized'. Yes, it draws trace elements from what made the Raise the Rent material great, but it trims away all the pomp of the old timey southern swing and builds the core concept into cyborg that has tools to accomplish most any task. You could list the styles and influences on Moxie but you'd more than likely run out of ink and sound lazy again before you finished. The truth is that there is no genre that would adequately describe this record.
What will strike you first is how electrified these songs are. Synth, effected electric guitar, digital delays, samples and some interesting post production trick (here's a hint listen to this record through headphones) are completely new tricks that Daphne and the crew at Fuzzy Rainbow Productions have incorporated to propel her forward.
From what we have previously heard from Daphne, her writing style doesn't necessarily lend itself to using electronic elements but with a little studio alchemy there is cohesion and the formation of something new. When psyche and soul are blended she keeps the piano straddling lounge imagery she's used before without using the same style of music. The smoky basement vibe is pushed straight into your face making it more visceral and less like movie magic. There are songs, like "A Little Bit", and interludes, like the one in the middle of "Cheers, Darlin' ". that seem a little more like dream sequences than real life but this keeps Moxie from being mired in a seedy atmosphere that songs like "Whiskey and Sin" and "Sweet & Low Down" create.
The other side of that coin is Daphne's use of the old instruments and structures to create new imagery. "Molotov" is a familiar shuffle and features an impressive banjo solo but unlike the bright lights and honkytonks that may have come to mind before, they now seem to call for speeding trains through driving rain. Both of those scenarios may be metaphors for freedom or in the long run regret, they are completely different ways of expressing them and for the listener, feeling them.
Moxie is a such a huge step forward you'd think it would leave little room for Daphne to maneuver in the future but it's true beauty is that is opens up so many doors that there is no limit to the avenues she could pursue.