Sub Pop Records

You’ve never heard of Daniel Martin Moore, from Cold Spring, Kentucky. That’s okay. Before we got his unsolicited demo in January 2007, neither had we. Luckily, he’d heard of us, and contacted us the way people in Cold Spring still do—he sent us a package, just to see what would happen. In all honesty, his odds were quite slim, but occasionally we’ll take down that “no solicitation” sign on our door. Eventually, we opened his package and gave his four songs a listen and decided to contact him—we happened upon Daniel while he was working at a friend’s bed and breakfast in Costa Rica. He’d been a bit of a drifter up until this point, studied photography in college, joined the Peace Corps in 2006, traveling to Cameroon for his service. What was supposed to be a two year commitment was cut short due to illness. So he came back to the states, lived in Minnesota for a while with his brother (who plays piano on several tracks), and began to focus on music.

The first thing you’ll notice about his debut, Stray Age is its simplicity. It’s a folk record, evoking certain feelings (as all good records should), but there’s a gentle approach to its sound and the way Moore’s voice phrases his words. Stray Age was recorded in Los Angeles in three different spurts, the first two sessions taking place in October and December of 2007, then the third in February of 2008. He even got some people you’ve heard of to help him out. Joe Chiccarelli (The Shins, U2, The White Stripes) took on co-production, recording and mixing duties. Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, Tori…