Mass Movement of the Moth

I was originally going to do this post back in May but didn't ever put it up for some reason. I think it was the week when I had four papers to do, so maybe I realized I should be doing something productive instead. I hadn't done that many posts at that point, and it was getting seriously incestuous (mainly due to a lot of the Richmond stuff & its connections). That trend has kind of continued, but not in as concentrated a manner.

The revived interest in Mass Movement of the Moth (not that I haven't been listening to them regularly since then) is because I got their Outerspace LP in the mail from someone on Viva La Vinyl recently. While I'm not into color wax as much as a lot of other people, I love myself a pretty record. This one is a nice dark pink color.

Anyway, Mass Movement of the Moth were a band from the DC area. Synth hardcore sounds like a recipe for disaster but Mass Movement fucking rock it. I first heard them by recommendation from Ted. He tends to make really epic suggesstions and ridiculous statements ("Oh, man- have you ever heard of Melt Banana? They're so good."), but this one was clearly worthwhile.



A bit dated description from their myspace:

"Mass Movement of the Moth is a band of people who know each other really well. From DC and Northern Virginia, we formed almost three years ago with the idea and commitment to creating a band that explored and pushed new boundaries of genre and style while keeping the way we did things fun and DIY. We realized the importance of questioning and breaking down the definitions of our language, of these arbitrary letters and vowels and consonants. And instead to learn to communicate, connect and share our passions with one another through other medium. Unlike spiders, we cannot foresee the future, but we can shape it before it happens. We must learn not to dwell on the past and turn to the expressions of tomorrow. For our band, our music is our form of self expression, our tool used to create something that hopefully others can relate to."

Outerspace came out on Exotic Fever on CD in May of 2006 and last spring on Alone Records on vinyl. One review I read called it "fucking essential."

Though Mass Movement of the Moth is no more, its members certainly have no shortage of other bands. See Christian Brady solo, Antlers, VCR, Meadows, blah blah blah. Ashley Arnwine (who plays in Des Ark sometimes) and Joey Doubek are in Ingrid but are on hiatus for a while since she moved. Antlers are on tour with the Catalyst for a couple more days.
Sometimes I wish I lived in the DC area.

Mass Movement of the Moth- Outerspace
Get the CD from Exotic Fever or the vinyl from Alone Records