The Moat by Nathaniel Bellows

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.

Writing, Visual Arts, Music:
www.nathanielbellows.com