MOTHS

MOTHS emerged slowly in 2009, with founder Jacob Morris singing and playing guitar while fellow Elf Power-ite Aaron Wegelin played drums. The early shows were quieter—warm, rich and full of calm, '70s-inspired harmonies that energized the room even as the pace remained slow. Later, Morris began to recruit some of his friends, and MOTHS gradually matured to the folk-country experiment it is today. (It sometimes includes as many as nine local musicians.)

The sound also has grown in volume and variety, but the vintage influences are still discernible: big (and old)-timers like Bob Dylan, Arthur Russell and John Cale, according to Morris.

"As far as the live band, it's a living organism," he says. "It will change and evolve.”

Uninterrupted evolution is perhaps the most important aspect of MOTHS’ dynamic. Morris writes the songs, but prefers to let his bandmembers write their own parts. Players rotate in and out based on their schedules or the full moon. No song sounds the same from one live show to another, and Morris often can’t predict what will come out.

“It’s sort of like an unstoppable train sometimes, because it’s so massive,” he says. “Sometimes, before we’re about to play a song, I’ll look around and say, 'Well, is everybody ready?'”

When Flagpole talked with Morris, the vinyl copies of MOTHS' self-titled first album had just been pressed. Morris is sure the band will get down to some serious practicing when the album comes out on Dec. 4. Until then, and with no band website and not even a predictable lineup, it’s tough to pin 'em down. What's for sure is that they're onto something good. The group opens for local singer-songwriter Madeline Adams this Saturday at the Caledonia; few intra-Athens musical pairings would seem to fit together so well.