The third addition to the ambitious project sees the 12-piece pile on the soul, blues, R&B and more for six new tracks, propped up by the stellar playing of Susan Tedeschi and Derek Trucks
The Fall’s Alix Lambert-directed companion film has been unveiled ahead of the record’s digital and physical release, which is set for this Friday (July 29). According to the band, the video lets fans experience the music as TTB intended: in an unbroken, communal setting, blending together live footage and visualizations.
It’s the latest addition to the mammoth four-album project, which has so far been previewed by the first and second episodes, titled Crescent and Ascension, respectively. As such, it offers up the next six songs in I Am The Moon’s 24-song collection.
And, just like its predecessors, The Fall sees the 12-member outfit continue to tackle themes of passion and despair, with its lead songwriters Susan Tedeschi, Mike Mattison and Gabe Dixon once again taking inspiration from a 12th-century poem about lovers Layla and Majnun.
The poem, written by Nizami Ganjavi, explores two characters from Persian mythology who are thought to have set the mold for the well-known tale of star-crossed lovers.
The Fall offers a similar thematic, sonic, lyrical and contextual depth that has been consistent throughout the project thus far. Throughout the 31-minute video, TTB harness the very best of their playing – film opener Somehow is full-throttle soul, packed with tasty slide grooves and some of the best solo tones we’ve heard all year.
Throughout the next three tracks – None Above, Yes We Will and Gravity – the band build in the momentum by delicately traversing the boundaries between blues, soul and R&B, before Mattison takes the lead and slows things down for the emotive waltz-time ballad, Emmaline.
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TTB cap off proceedings with Take Me As I Am – a heartfelt slow-dance, whose arrangement builds and swells all the way to its cliff hanger by way of operatic backing vocals and a dizzying slide solo.
(Image credit: Tedeschi Trucks Band / Fantasy Recordings)
At the time of I Am The Moon’s announcement, Trucks spoke of the album’s natural development, and confessed that the mammoth undertaking proved to be easier than one might expect.
“There are even chord changes that mirror other tunes on the albums – themes and variations, lyrical allusions, that pop back up,” said Trucks. “You always want to do something bigger and thematic. This is the first time it happened naturally.”
The fourth and final video installment to the I Am The Moon saga, Farewell, will debut on August 23. The physical and digital release will take place three days after on August 26.
Matt is a Senior Staff Writer, writing for Guitar World, Guitarist and Total Guitar. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 16 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt records for a number of UK-based bands and songwriters as a session musician.
