Tedeschi Trucks Band officially began an ambitious album cycle on Tuesday with the premiere of Crescent, the first of four installments of a sprawling new visual album, I Am The Moon, due to be rolled out over the course of this summer. Today, Crescent arrives on all major audio streaming platforms.
The fifth and most imaginative studio project of Tedeschi Trucks Band’s decorated career, I Am The Moon is comprised of four albums, four films, and 24 original songs. Inspired by a mythic Persian tale of star-crossed lovers and driven by the isolation and disconnection of the pandemic era, the project totals more than two hours of new music from the Derek Trucks– and Susan Tedeschi-led 12-piece.
Crescent kicks off with the introspective “Hear My Dear” as misty, dynamic animations set the stage for a particular brand of vintage surrealism. As the film moves into the Mike Mattison-led “Fall In”, a devil-may-care celebration with a sing-along refrain, viewers get few peeks at both the recording process of the track and a thematic live performance amid grainy cut-ins and kaleidoscopic embellishments.
Gabe Dixon and Susan Tedeschi weave wistfully around each other on the moving Crescent centerpiece, “I Am The Moon”, before driving drums and searing horns usher in the howl of Trucks’s slide guitar once again for “Circles ‘Round The Sun”, a road-weary tune set to smoldering imagery courtesy of director Alix Lambert and editor Lizzie Minges.
Related: Tedeschi Trucks Band Details 2022 Beacon Theatre Residency
The bulk of I Am The Moon: Episode I. Crescent comes in the form of “Pasaquan”, the hair-raising instrumental that occupies the film’s final 12 minutes. Originally introduced by Tedeschi Trucks Band during last year’s Fireside Sessions, the winding composition unleashes the full power of Trucks and company’s sonic steam engine as they contour the eccentric spiritual landscape of the song’s namesake, Pasaquan, the 7-acre compound near Buena Vista, GA adorned with mosaic art by Eddie Owens Martin, a.k.a. St. EOM.
[Screengrab via ‘Crescent’ visual album]
Crescent, the first installment of Tedeschi Trucks Band’s I Am The Moon audiovisual album project, is now available in audio and video formats. Watch/listen below and order I Am The Moon: Episode I. Crescent on the physical platform of your choice here.
Tedeschi Trucks Band – I Am The Moon: Episode I. Crescent – Full Video
Tedeschi Trucks Band – I Am The Moon: Episode I. Crescent – Full Album
The slow rollout of I Am The Moon continues with the release of the Crescent audio on digital platforms and CD this Friday, June 3rd. The band will issue II. Ascension, III. The Fall, and IV. Farewell on a monthly basis throughout the summer. All vinyl configurations, including individual LPs and the 4-LP I Am The Moon Deluxe Box will be available on September 9th, 2022. Click below for the full Tedeschi Trucks Band I Am The Moon release schedule.
The band will hit the road this summer in celebration of I Am The Moon. For a list of upcoming TTB tour dates, head here.
[Originally published 6/1/22]