Compulsion of passionate mania

Tedeschi Trucks Band are back with episode III of four albums preluding  I Am The Moon: I. Crescent and I Am The Moon II: Ascension. Susan Tedeschi, Mike Mattison and Gabe Dixon find inspiration in I Am The Moon III: The Fall from the poem regarding 7th-century lovers Layla and Majnun. This album feeds into passion, despair and ultimate fate. Musically wise, it is simplistic, but there is a heavier emphasis on the poetic aspect.

“Somehow” is a groovy ballad with the right amount of persuasive percussion and bluesy overtones that highlight the band’s signature sound. It is a contrarian track on logic vs. feeling that delights with thought-provoking lyrics such as “What put the fire in the cold of night?/ What strikes a match in a stranger’s eye so bright?”

“None Above” is the culmination of obsession, love and madness. It is another track with a bluesy hymn that integrates its own language by adding additional layers to the already developed theme. Tedeschi Trucks Band nailed it lyrically with this riveting set of lyrics: “The battle for your soul, It’s killing us, The milk of kindness, and ties that bind us.”

“Yes We Will” takes a different turn incorporating a noticeable chorus and a strengthening message of redemption. Tedeschi Trucks Band have soulful undertones all while glorifying multiple opportunities to “get it right this time,” which comes off as ambiguous and leaves interpretation to the listener. Tedeschi sings the lyrics “But the writing’s been slapped on the wall, come on, wake up people, can’t you see it now?”

Tedeschi Truck Band’s I Am The Moon: III. The Fall ups the stakes to tell the story of a derivative tale of love, madness, passion and obsession, all while attempting to fight fate and  eventually surrendering to this inevitable force. This album was breathtaking, mystical, honest and real. It was a musical poetry slam that conveys contradictory feelings both light and dark. I Am The Moon: III. The Fall is the cleverest way to say “To Be Continued.”