Mazozma

Constant RSTB favorite Ma Turner (Warmer Milks, State Champion, Huevos II) returns to one of his constant covers as Mazozma for his sixth album, echoing a relocation to the UK with soft shades of Anglican-influenced folk. The record moves through moon phases, chilly and calm, haunted by specters that reach out from the shadows. The record boasts a big step up in sound from the past few Mozozma releases, pulling Turner’s wind-torn folk onto a bigger sound stage without losing any of the band’s inherent loneliness. The close-mic connection that Turner fosters on the album drags the listener into his oubliette, a companion at the bottom of the well watching shadows and shades of light move through the cracks above.

Sure, on paper that might sound morose, but there’s something comforting, even calming about Turner’s songs on Bathing In The Stone. Current times are fraught with fatigue, friction, and anxiety, and somewhere in the resigned sighs of the record there’s a solace that allows the listener to let themselves bleed, bruise, and maybe eventually heal. If not, there’s at least the sense that Ma’s going through the bends with you, an album devastated but not defeated. In a year packed with releases, you’d be remiss to let this one slip by. We’re in need of something to numb the pain, and Bathing In The Stone does the trick, while winding up one of Ma Turner’s best yet.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.