VIRB

Much of what's on this album seems more grounded than other Moodring stuff I've heard, less abstract, even a little poppy. "Hails" just all around pretty. The vocals, the hymnlike incantations, make me think of local out-folk duo Plants (their listed as collaborators on Moodring's Myspace). The arrangements make me think of x number of chamber-esque bands: chilly, droning strings and wandering piano. The setup's been abused plenty before, but Moodring pulls it off with originality. Lovely.----Willamette Week

A fascinating project by Rollerball's Mae Starr (vocals /keyboards) and Monte Trent Allen (bass/sonic tweaking). Mae is a powerful singer, able to really light up a song, and she does just that on a few of these tracks. Her voice is sometimes at the forefront, but just as often she's buried under layers of unidentifiable sounds, distortion, drones, and loops. The music is an interesting blend of warm acoustic sounds and synthetic textures and beats; a combination I have really grown to like. Monte's creative production work places us in an unfamiliar world; mysterious but not scary. Several tracks include contributions from guest artists, all of whom I believe are Portland-based, as are Moodring. And as if the wonderful handcrafted music wasn't enough, this CD comes in nicely handcrafted packaging. Definitely check this one out. ---kfjc
Portland, Oregon musicians Mae Starr and Monte Trent Allen construct toxic clusters and thick webs of grainy ambience and psychedelic primitivism under the Moodring moniker. The opening "Barcelona" is an entrancing funereal drone that borders almost industrial soundscapes, while "Seer" offers glacial, primitive noise. The remaining two tracks of this hand-made 3" CD-R are slightly less bent and offers reflection and even collage-like grooves rather than haunting vibes. All in all impressive sound portals to the inner mind.---the Broken face
Duet Mae STARR i Monte Trent ALLEN z formacji ROLLERBALL z niewielk? pomoc? przyjació?. Elektryczno - akustyczno - elektroniczne pie?ni i piosenki awangardy rocka. Na fundamencie psychodelicznych ballad, muzyki eksperymentalnej, undergroundowego rocka, niepokornego popu. Opowiadanie hipnotyczne, magiczne, zab??kane, uwodz?ce, w pulsuj?cych przestrzeniach. ---ROKU

Moodring, the spanking new duolicious project from Mae Starr and "Mini Wagon Wheel" of Rollerball infamy. Word is still out on the stylistic bent of this promising new collaboration, but if forced to make a guess, I'd forecast dark clouds on their horizon. JB