Like Bon Iver’s For Emma, Forever Ago, singer-songwriter M Craft’s third album was made in a cabin in the middle of nowhere. It’s this, perhaps, that gives the songs their ghostly quality, whether it’s the hushed, cosmic folk of Afterglow or the twinkling opener, New Horizons, on which all the instruments slowly come to life. Throughout, the Australian is a calming presence, contemplating love while staring at the stars, his voice evoking Sufjan Stevens circa Seven Swans. Sonically, however, Blood Moon stands alone as a perfectly judged synthesis of conventional songwriting skills and detailed, cinematic music that revels in the silence between the notes. Superb.
