Stingray In The Heart

for the sake of description, let's say moris tepper plays tin-can firefly music, which is to say that he's a master of his own universe, much like captain beefheart, tom waits, frank black and robyn hitchcock, for all of whom he has famously side-manned as a guitarist. he's accessibly avant-garde, warm and comforting like twilight time, yet just as eerie. 'stingray in the heart' is a natural and interesting follow-up to his last, 'head off', which resulted in an entire world tour opening slot for pj harvey. though moris is well known as a sideman-guitar-hero (captain beefheart), 'stingray in the heart' proves yet again, beyond doubt, that he is a unique, powerful voice on the level of the visionaries we associate him with. the new album features a richer and more varied landscape.