Style: experimental, instrumental, classical
Label: self-released
Year: 2009
Home: New York, NY
Members: Caitlin Moe ~ violin
22 year old Caitlin Moe found her spotlight a lot brighter in 2011 as she joined Trans-Siberian Orchestra on their first European tour followed by a mini-tour of the States. TSO, one of the top-grossing rock tours, is known for its revolving door which has given many lesser known musicians both a career highlight & a national audience they might not have found otherwise. Moe already got a great critical response when she released her self-titled EP in 2009 but being in the TSO family just confirms her talent. But, many who know her only from TSO might be surprised by her incredibly creative originals on her self-titled debut EP that mix multi-layered violin sounds with a electronic foundation that is a perfect musical face for her sexy street attitude & energetic solo live performance. "Someone To La-La-Love" includes shy vocals reminiscent of a southern folk singer alongside an upbeat drum beat, violin flourishes & a pop sensibility that makes it surprising that this wasn't a bigger hit & one can only fault the difficulties of distribution/getting heard in the internet age. While "Siren Song" consists of layered plucked violins against a drum beat & layered vocals. Anyone expecting long violin solos a la Carnegie Hall need look elsewhere. This is almost dance music with its inviting combination of beats with sliding textures that sound like the ocean moving, as its supposed to. Though Moe's "Instrumental" gets close to Carnegie with the lack of a electronic beat but with at least 3 layers of violin sounds, each played or plucked in a different way, building to a large crescendo its more akin to Phillip Glass. The remaining two tracks are just as different as those before them, just as experimental. On one hand its good that Moe got a gig with TSO as it opens her fanbase beyond those who might have seen her live in NYC or discovered her myspace page, but her music is so different than the over-the-top guitar/piano driven epics of TSO that the quasi-restrictive requirements of the show where she's playing others' musical creation doesn't show her at her best. Though, on the other hand, one hopes that the restrictiveness of TSO, let alone I'm sure much needed additional income, prompts her to explore her creative side even more in a follow-up to this EP. Moe is not the first rock chick to pick up the violin but no one before her have sounded like this. There will be no regrets investigating this rising star.
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