Slark Moan is the New York-based indie rock artist and alter ego of multi-instrumentalist Annie Taylor Sloan. Her music is a cocktail of angular indie-rock hooks, colorful chord progressions, and virtuosic jazz solos, bathing in a pool of guitar-forward psychedelia.
Moan spent much of the last decade as a session guitarist in Nashville, Tennessee, collaborating with acclaimed Americana and indie acts, including Torres, Margo Price, Erin Rae, and SG Goodman. The dexterous guitar style that she developed during those early Nashville years seeps into her solo productions, complementing the melodic intuition of a veteran of the stage and recording studio.
On her latest single, the lovely, groove-filled “Emphatic Love,” Moan creates a tunnel of raw emotions and neon guitar melodies that immerses the listener in the palpable performance. The artist’s latest single is a simplistic mixture of lush vocals cascading around pulsating drums and sleek guitar work, forcing the tune to land somewhere between psych-rock elegance and shoegaze bliss. While it is easy to get caught up in the stunning instrumentation and gentle vocals, Moan is dealing with some heavy emotions on “Emphatic Love.” There are uplifting undertones in every nuance of this performance, as the artist proudly croons about a deeply personal journey. Moan can take the complexity of her life and extract the love from it, taking it with her through every record released, but her appreciation for life shines brighter than ever on “Emphatic Love.”
“I wrote ‘Emphatic Love’ about a year or so before I made the decision to transition. I was experiencing uncertainty with how my evolving gender presentation might affect my relationship. During this time, my partner showed me the most enthusiastic acceptance, and I think this song came out of feeling seen and celebrated,” explains Moan when asked about “Emphatic Love.”
“It’s the sort of love song that comes from truly knowing someone and being inspired to be creative collaborators,” continues the artist. “I think there’s a lot of forward momentum in this song. I wanted it to feel like the time-lapse videos of plants growing in a nature documentary. The plants don’t know where they’re going or how their environment might change, but they cling to each other and keep growing towards the sun.”
