Drab Majesty - An Object In Motion

The latest EP from Drab Majesty marks the start of a stirring new chapter in the band’s majestic legacy. Written during a 2021 retreat to the remote coastal Oregon town of Yachats, Deb Demure leaned into the neo-psychedelic resonance of a uniquely bowl-shaped 12-string Ovation acoustic/electric guitar. Deb would record ambient guitar experiments the rest of the day, tapping into “flow states,” which were then refined or recreated, and later elevated further with key collaborations by Rachel Goswell(Slowdive), Justin Meldal-Johnson(Beck, M83, Air), and Ben Greenberg (Uniform, Circular Ruin Studio). 

An Object In Motion is true to its title, capturing the chrysalis moment of an artist evolving, reborn and untethered, silhouetted against an open horizon. “Cape Perpetua” kicks off the collection’s divergent palette: sparkling acoustic finger-picking refracted through delay, equal parts raga and reverie. Melodies and moods congeal and dissipate, at the threshold of rustic American primitivism, brooding neo-folk, and pastoral melancholia. Rachel Goswell lends her iconic free fall voice to The Cure-esque ballad, “Vanity,” infusing poetic gravity to the doomed refrain. “Yield To Force”, the closing track of the EP, may be the most anomalous offering of the set. A 15-minute instrumental odyssey of cyclical strings, ominous slide guitar, and simmering synthesizer, the piece sways and spirals like a long zoom into distant storm clouds. It’s music both intuitive and prophetic, tracing the slow swing of pendulums across an endless plain. 

Taken as a whole, An Object In Motion presents a showcase of potential futures from Drab’s evolving domain, their sound poised to bloom at the precipice of transformation.