The Moat

“A stunner of an EP…phenomenal” —Vents Magazine

"Bellows' grainy vocals imbue the lyrics with intense passion... [his] voice remains vivia with tangs of aching melancholy. There's a starkness to the vocals that surround the lyrics in a kind of elegiac cocoon.”

— Americana Highways

"A one-of-a-kind, six-song collection of raw authenticity that traverses emotional landscapes with intimacy and poetic storytelling.”

— Grateful Web

"A stark but emotive storyteller, with a voice and lyrics that are as deep as they are rich...his raw, soulful, and emotionally textured songs are equal parts grace and grit.”

— That Eric Alper

"We're lucky (Bellows] has a voice and a poetic sensibility...to get deeper to the root of his universal, but not necessarily oft-explored themes and questions...If you find yourself seeking personal truth and shared
experience...you might really like this deep and resounding work of art.”

— Prism Reviews

" The songs [of The Moat] wind between rollicking, upbeat swings and jazz-inflected inner-searching - all with the goal of deepening our knowledge of who we are in the world.”

— antiMusic

The Moat is a six-song song-cycle that explores the inherent contradiction of what a "moat" is: A fortification of self-protection, safety, and security? Or a defensive structure necessitated by a fear of the outside world?

Each of the songs in The Moat excavates this dichotomy with emotional immediacy, linguistic rigor, and a variety of musical landscapes—from the rollicking, upbeat swings and surges in “Works for Me” and “That Too”; to the jazz-inflected, discursive inner-searching of “True” and “Your Fault”; to the icy, electronic balladry in “Night in Day”; to “Proof,” a soaring, treatise on how the self changes—and must always change—over time.

As a whole, The Moat is an exploration of armor and vulnerability, hiding and exposure, insularity and outreach—all with the goal of deepening our knowledge of who we are in the world.

Nathaniel Bellows: Acoustic guitar and vocals
Michael Coleman: Piano, organ, Wurlitzer
Ian Davis: Bass, electric guitar
Kid Millions: Drums
Michael Hammond: Electronics/Sound Design on “Night in Day”
Engineered, mixed, and mastered by Michael Hammond
Recorded at Figure 8 Recording, Brooklyn, NY