Elliot Moss

S&S Presents
Elliot Moss
Derover
Feb 21 8:00 PM

Elliot Moss’ new album ​A Change In Diet​ represents a shift, a dividing line separating nearly everythinghe once knew from his future. The album captures a period of upheaval that altered Moss’ habits,relationships, and even his songwriting. Across the 11 songs, he methodically details the nature ofchange and the ways it can be liberating, discomforting, and often essential. “A change in diet is one ofthe first things that any self-help resource or therapist will recommend to you,” he explains. “The title isalmost a joke because it feels like a crazy oversimplification of your problem. But at the same time it’s notwrong. It’s rarely one singular change that needs to be made, it is many incremental changes. Andeverything contributes.”The New York-bred multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer first captured interest with hisbrand of dense, thoughtful electronic music on 2015’s ​Highspeeds​ and 2017’s ​Boomerang​. The albumswere icy at times, often shrouded in abstraction, but the path to ​A Change In Diet​ led Moss’ art intocompellingly vulnerable new territory. Following the end of a decade-long romantic relationship and a longstruggle with depression, he turned to songwriting to find catharsis. “It can be easy to fall into old comfortzones. I wanted to write music that was more real. Music that made me nervous to play. If you’re scaredof what you’re doing, it’s a good thing…you’re growing,” Moss says.This approach led to a more raw and uninhibited sound than his previous work, each song awash withvivid imagery and self-reflection. Moss uses the motif of “bending a body into shapes” as a conceptuallaunching pad throughout the album, examining our willingness to make concessions in order to fit in ormaintain certain status quos within our lives—even if it’s damaging in the long run. “These songs areabout acknowledging the sharp pains and discomfort, rather than making excuses or distractingourselves. The kind of mental gymnastics that are required to meet the expectations others have for you,and you may have for yourself, can become too tiring to keep up,” he explains. “I wanted the record’ssound to reflect the same honesty that I’ve been using with myself. I made the decision to avoid hidingbehind echoes and effects this time, relying on the instrumentals so heavily.”As a result, ​A Change In Diet​ is a brave, inward-looking opus filled with sublimely simple textures, spartanbeats, and poignant songwriting. “Barricade,” a song about the emotional stranglehold of obsessiverelationships, features a steady drone that Moss likens to the sensation of falling, while its chorussuggests that boundaries are sometimes the only way to avoid feeling trapped. “Silver + Gold” and thealbum’s spiritual centerpiece “Bodyintoshapes” are powerful showcases of Moss’ newly incisive wordplay.And while “July 4” details the ways we often run and hide from our pain, the act of writing these songswas anything but a retreat. “This is the first record where I’ve truly avoided compromise,” Moss explains.“I’ve said things exactly the way I wanted to, and didn’t really have the confidence to do that until now.This record was born out of embracing that fear of honesty and pushing past it.”With ​A Change In Diet​, Moss begins a new journey, powered by a willingness to share his soulunadorned.