MOSS GREW ON THE SWORDS AND PLOWSHARES ALIKE

Kayo Dot have been on a strong run for a while now. Ever since their landmark Hubardo album back in 2013 they have been delivering a diverse but consistent string of albums for the rest of the decade. They had tuned down the pure Avant chaos of their earlier work but in exchange had made their albums more direct and engaging, while still being far away from commercial or selling out.

Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike sees a shifting back to the older, more experimental style of Kayo Dot, partially due to the deliberate homage to former band maudlin of the Well and Greg Massi joining the band once again. As with the older Kayo Dot albums Moss is very uncompromising, with their being lots of extreme metal, grows and screams. They have even managed to do some Avant drone metal and expansive sound scaping, which I have not heard from them since their earlier 2 albums and never thought I would again from them.

Their is a lot of familiar ground between this album and Hubardo in terms of aggression and song writing. However the key difference is the Mauldlin influence in Moss, which causes the songs to be more abstract and experimental. While most of this album is dark and heavy, ambient and new-age sounds permeate though to add a more otherworldliness feel.

The album was created during the Covid pandemic, when the world was turned upside down and people were full of fear and dread. The nightmare of 2020 has been perfectly reflected on Moss, which tells stories of cruelty and pain, with their being no hope on the horizon. The darkness intensifies as the album continues, with it reaching a climax at the start of Epipsychidion ( probably the most chaotic and destructive song Kayo Dot have ever created), before everything crumbles away into Avant Garde sound scaping.

Moss Grew on the Swords and Plowshares Alike may well be the most challenging album Toby Driver has ever written (which is impressive if you look at his back catalogue!), as it contains a level of darkness and intensity that surpasses the likes of Hubardo, Coyote or Library Loft. The extreme metal and psychic darkness will make this album hard to listen to, even for most Prog listeners. Yet despite this there are some of the best music I have ever heard to be found here. I would rank this album as highly as their debut Choirs, which is one of my favourite albums of all time.

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