Kelly Kirwan
Lora-Faye Ashuvud has slipped on the moniker Arthur Moon to propel us into a topsy-turvy landscape. The Swedish-born, Brooklyn-raised artist has found her niche in the off-kilter, those wobbly lines of a melody that send subtle shockwaves roaring through the speakers. Arthur Moon takes a mallet to preconceived notions, her music presenting itself in unexpected bursts. Her new single, "Room," off the debut EP, Our Head, is no exception.
The montage that accompanies "Room" is an uncanny representation of its sound. Arthur Moon’s rich pitch has a ragged touch, with a deep reverb that streaks boldly across the melody. The video features the artist herself against a white backdrop that serves as her canvas. At first it’s only the seeds of a portrait, unfleshed lines curving together, our musician also portrayed as an early sketch. Then the film flickers, as plucked guitar adds a folky tinge to the track, and both the artist and her painting are cast in a heavy filter.
Ashuvud’s croon swerves into a soprano, as electric guitars charge the atmosphere with a sense of lurking wildness and subtle sensuality. The music video then inverts, the canvas turning black with white brushstrokes giving hints of what she's feverishly painting. Her voice snakes its way between the ever-increasing frenetic energy, “I want to get out / Baby let me get out,” a line so easily delivered you don’t feel a sense of unease. Arthur Moon lets these dizzying elements align, as if deftly balancing spinning plates on each fingertip, leaving us enraptured and at a standstill.