Though based around an urban setting like Boston, Sam Moss & the Half Moons channel a woody atmosphere in the heart of the city. On Friday 3/2, the group will take the stage at the Lizard Lounge in Cambridge to premiere songs from their new album, Neon. The Western Den will open the show. Moss’s work has been praised by notable outlets like NPR and he has played at Newport Folk Festival. 

 

Since 2011, Moss has released an impressive body of work that includes three albums, a few EPs and singles, as well as a 12 song Christmas album. After refining his finger-picking style, Moss began to add lyrics. As it turns out, that was a good decision. Given the wide landscape of the instrumentation, Moss’s voice finds itself with plenty of space to construct emotional, poetic narratives that give shape to the way love changes across the passage of time. 

 

 

There is a heartbreaking beauty to the album’s lyrics, and to say that Moss has a way with words is an understatement. To help listeners appreciate this lyrical quality, Moss released a full lyric sheet to each track. Of the many themes that the songs explore, there are some lines that hit like a punch in the emotional gut with their vivid honesty. For example, on “Flowers,” one of the album’s advanced singles, Moss croons, “And the years get blurry and your voice has changed/Suppose I only knew it covered up in pain.” The narrators in these songs often meander through an urban expanse and the album’s central conflict lies in contrasting those narratives with the sylvan quality of the music. 

 

 

Lizard Lounge, 1667 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge

$10 advance / $12 at the door

8:30 doors / 9:00 show