Ike Abakah Photo
Trey Moore.
“Love Drugs,” the first cut from the New Haven-based musician Trey Moore’s new album Psychedelic Love Drugs, starts as a smooth number, a sultry guitar, a gentle rhythm. “Reality,” Moore sings. “I want it now.” As if in response, the song kicks into a new mode, with swirling keyboards, a dirty drumbeat, lush strings. It’s a signal for what the album has in store; as the name implies, Psychedelic Love Drugs is about expansion — mentally and musically.
“I’m proud of everything I make. This one feels a lil different tho. It took some time. I hope it makes you feel something,” Moore wrote on social media by way of introduction. “drive somewhere, spend time with it, catch a vibe. we’ll see what happens.”
As New Haven music fans know, watching what happens with Moore is worth doing. He appears onstage frequently, whether presenting his own music or playing as a sideman. He has also become a music scene organizer. Last year he created the Seeing Sounds Festival, which filled the skate park at Edgewood Park with vendors and music on a hot July day. This summer the festival will take place from June 27 to July 1 with the main event returning to Edgewood’s skate park once again. This spring Moore also organized a few shows under the moniker of INDIEWAV, “a curated showcase for the community to explore and experience the next generation of indie artists from CT and beyond,” as well as The Undrgrnd, a dance party.”
And meantime, there is Psychedelic Love Drugs, which shows how Moore has been stretching out as an artist. “Hypnotized” uses a simple riff from a crunchy guitar as a setting for an adventurous, romantic melody that turns a sharp corner halfway through. Drums and bass bolster the beat while a MC takes over. “If you’re feeling psychedelic, I’m on it,” the rap goes. By then, it’s easy to believe him.
The musical turns continue with each song. “Get to Know You” slides along on a slinky beat that gets a little grit from guitars and keys. “Illusion” partakes of a classic strut until it breaks into a gallop and finally takes off in a sweep of synthesizers. “Altitude” starts off with driving drums but then floats off into the ether — ending in an alarm clock. “Sober” and “Closer” are lush ballads, while “Do You” strips down to the essentials. The album’s closers, “Shrooms” and “You,” find Moore at his spaciest, and in the end, his most anthemic.
Each specific song, and the album as a whole, is marked by transformation. The songs begin in one sonic space and end in another, taking the listener (as, again, the title promises) on a trip, outward and inward. All told, Psychedelic Love Drugs is Moore’s most complete and complex record to date, and also a sign that maybe he’s just getting started.
Psychedelic Love Drugs is available on Apple Music and Spotify. Follow what Moore is up to as an artist and organizer by visiting his webpage.