Song of the Day: Poor Moon - Holiday

Every Monday through Friday, we deliver a different song as part of our Song of the Day podcast subscription. This podcast features exclusive KEXP in-studio performances, unreleased songs, and recordings from independent artists that our DJs think you should hear. This week, we’re featuring songs exclusively from artists playing the 2013 Capitol Hill Block Party. Today’s song is “Holiday” by Poor Moon from the 2012 self-titled album on Sub Pop.

Poor Moon - Holiday (MP3)

The four-piece band Poor Moon is not flashy, there are no pyrotechnics in their tool kit (well, at least, not yet). But there are beautiful vocals, xylophones, unassuming attire and music that sounds like something you’ve heard before, but maybe never have, music that might have come, originally, from the very streams and rocks and stars of the original humans. They wear plaid, they wear button-ups, plain white t-shirts and, on any given afternoon, might have gone days without washing their hair. But music, like any idea, is invisible, essentially, and so it lives in the mind. The music of Poor Moon, once you hear it, will always live in yours.

Their song “Holiday”, specifically, creates an atmosphere where it feels like you’re walking down a hallway getting closer and closer to something. You find yourself looking in a room to your left, yet nothing is there. You continue down, trying to find it. It’s almost as if you’re chasing a dim-blue ray of light. With syncopated guitars, Girl from Ipanema-like snares, and a harmony either from the islands or the apartment next door, Poor Moon’s “Holiday” captures what it’s like to be uncapturable. “You might get away – because you waited far too long, it is time to listen to your favorite song,” sings vocalist Christian Wargo on the pretty track.

Poor Moon is playing the Barboza Stage during the Capitol Hill Block Party on Sunday, July 28 at 5:45PM. Find out more on their Facebook page and watch one of their live KEXP performances here: