In Review
Nathan Moore
Folk Singer
The Royal Potato Family (RPF 0002)
www.royalpotatofamily.com
Grade:

Less is more on singer/writer Moore’s simple — but not simple at all — eight-track EP Folk Singer. At home in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley, he composes his thoughtful, sometimes whimsical ballads with only his acoustic guitar, so that’s how he presents them here, along with some banjo and harmonica.

Greg Brown comes to mind on the opener, “Tombstone,” where Moore pens his own obit. Next, “Hard Times” recalls Depression-Era country bluesmen. God hardly seems omnipotent on stream-of-consciousness “Everybody Dreams.” Moments of self-doubt balance moments of self-assertion throughout. Lyrically, “Invisible Guy” parallels “Cellophane Man” from Chicago. The closer you listen, the better Moore sounds.