Manifest Destiny

You could describe the output of this towering electric string quartet-plus-drums as heavy chamber music. with it's several writers and full complement of ace instrumentalists, arrayed in striking combination, Moraine achieves a coherent sound while drawing on forms ranging from math-rock to fractured bebop to Chinese folk music to unleashed, plugged-in power jazz, and more. At the center of the sound are Dennis Rea's stellar guitar inventions. Ruth Davidson's cello and Alicia Allen's violin slash and singe with uncanny unity of purpose and design. Bassist Kevin Millard and drummer Jay Jaskot boast drive and thrust. All that begins to explain why Moraine has been embraced by audiences ranging from jazz aficionados to metalheads.