Kim Moberg’s sophomore album Up Around The Bend cruises through many different approaches to the songwriting craft. Offering folk drenched ditties, edgier, electric guitar driven numbers, and even a swaggering country shuffle song, Up Around The Bend gives proof to Moberg’s strongest point. She can deliver the goods in a variety of musical settings.
Opening title track “Up Around The Bend” find Moberg’s vocal filled with expression. One can hear her wonder at the world in her very timbre. Here she’s lyrically concerned with what’s about to hit us in life that we cannot yet see. Timbre and lyrics come together perfectly, as if conjured by magic. Producer Jon Evans plays a swirling organ line that keeps this song feeling like one warm, thick tapestry and a backing vocal shadows Moberg’s lead vocal to deliver the message with a secondary finesse.
A midtempo warning song, “Here Be Dragons” is Moberg’s cautionary tale. Even a person who is true can blur the lines between right and wrong choices depending upon where they are in their lives. With an acoustic strum that is both plucky and syrupy, Moberg lays down a flinty line that’s covered in homey. Her vocal straddles between wonder and acceptance, and that is just her timbre. She applies her voice well to the task of gliding around above the organ swirls and a secondary, rootsie electric guitar.
Moberg becomes more assertive and marches her message forward with good rhythmic underpinning on “Right To Bear Arms.” Lyrically focused on the tragic incident at Newtown, Connecticut, this singer-songwriter questions the enthusiasm for the right to bear arms over people‘s right to live. While there is less girlish wonder in her voice on this one, her fierce determination to explore this issue comes across loud and clear in descriptions of the bizarre incident and its aftermath Moberg puts together a strong message at a considerate pace and her slow build amounts to something tremendous in its construction. A haunting backing vocal underscores the weird senseless loss that this song is about.
“That’ll Have To Wait” couples a hearty organ and sublime electric guitar with Moberg’s articulate acoustic guitar melody. That weave makes a good home for Moberg’s sadness-dripping vocal, a center to the warmer sound as she mourns the loss of a love while appreciating what’s been lost. Every note played here seems to be crying, even though the lyrics contrast cleverly by saying it’s not time yet.
Moberg tenderly caresses her lyrics to “In December.” She works her vocal magic, spreading it and guiding with a personality-filled touch. A focus on Santa does not mean she still believes in Father Christmas but rather believes in the magic of Christmas time when all things seem possible. Jon Evans unfurls an electric guitar melody that sprinkles the song with same the magic as the Moberg voice. Snowflakes of piano and acoustic guitar notes, too, make one picture a winter scene as they make their way down during the vocal and guitar parts that move horizontally across the soundscape.
Moberg conjures a hearty folk music feel on “21 Steps. (Ballad For The Unknown) With Jon Evans singing backing vocals, Moberg reaches and emotional height even though her vocal application and accompaniment are light. She and Evans give her chorus a lift by using emphasis, inflection, and a slight change in dynamics. The puff of vocals over a light accompaniment thus heightens the importance of her message.”
Moberg and company rock things up a bit on “Avarice And Greed.” Here, she sings with more of an edge as Evans plays an edgier electric guitar line and a more flinty organ swirl. Drummer Matthias Bossi, who has been laying down a perfect beat thus far, takes it to a higher level here. Bossi shows a great feel for finding the right place to punctuate the song with his fills. Evans lead guitar line swaggers and snaps righteously beneath Moberg’s direct grievances against the insanity of those wanting more and more.
Mining her Native American culture, Moberg offers a legendary tale from her Tlingit heritage on “The Raven.” Her considerate vocal pace lets her imagery and narrative come to three dimensional life. Reverence in Moberg’s vocal tone highlights the importance of this song, and its message about a raven and an eagle fighting over the sunlight. Bossi’s primitive drumbeat gives this an authentic Native American vibe as Moberg teases all of the meaning out of this centuries old tale.
Moving into chill vibe on Lost In Blue,” Moberg gets emotionally deeper. Comparing colors to feelings, Moberg finds we avoid the colors that remind of unhappy feelings. This singer-songwriter spreads her smooth, sweet voice well over a mournful accompaniment from her musical chum Heather Swanson on violin. Every note played and sang here is a sweet salute to the feelings we must all confront from time to time.
Built upon soothing single notes from multiple guitars, piano, and violin, “Wrapped Inside Your Love” testifies to this singer-songwriter’s love of her life. With gentle underpinning from half a dozen melodic instruments, Moberg’s voice need only travel an easeful path to the listener’s soft spot. It’s a treat for the ears to hear her move her subtle voice over her support players and beside Evans backing vocal.
A bit of foot tapping country roots influences “Josephine.” This one just chugs along motored by a Bossi train engine shuffle, a groove further engraved by Evans’ upright bass plucking. Heather Swanson bows her fiddle with the spirited mule kick frenzy of woman who has the devil himself on her trail. Guitars offers nice touches, mighty acoustic strumming and sly electric picking in special intervals of notes. Moberg moves through this uptempo hoedown with sweet, reverent energy, making the listener feel the long tortured life of Josephine through speedy vocals and twisty lyrics.
A plucky mid tempo number, “The Long Road” lets Moberg lead her band through a contemplation of life. Her voice has a defiant charge here, a bit of edge and a bit of determination. Her vocal here makes its home amidst a flinty lead guitar phrase that raises its head just enough above the rhythm section. It all feels like a band onboard a large bus playing it from their seats as the bus rambles down the highway toward another gig.
Both a mourning song and a celebratory song, “Angels Fly” notes the mile markers in the life of a loved one whose time on earth is running out. Moberg fills this one with tremendous emotion as the listener feels the grandness of the person and the relationship she will be losing. This singer-songwriter’s vocal grows wide and strong as she carries the listener through this very personal reflection.
Closing track “Tomorrow’s Gonna Be A Better Day” focuses on looking forward to what happens after the day’s current problem is resolved. Moberg’s chorus gets a lifted lilt from Swanson’s violin thrusts as her vocal rides along that lofty place. Evans accompaniment on tenor guitar gives this tune more emotional grit. Then, Moberg weaves it all together with her strong but gentle musical personality. Her violin accompaniment expands into a string arrangement, a technique that challenges Moberg to sing wider, in a more expansive manner, and she does, quite well.
Moberg has created a strong singer-songwriter album with Up Around The Bend. Her stories are quite descriptive and she delivers each one tunefully with her voice, her guitar, and her support players. The plentitude and variety of songs will earn this disc many repeat listens. With Catie, Flynn, Rachel Moberg, Kathleen Healy, and Rebecca Moberg filling out the vocal textures, this disc, recorded at The Studio at Brick Hill in Orleans, Massachusetts stands out for its many approaches to the singer-songwriter craft.
