Moris Tepper is a legendary guitarist, songwriter, and visual artist. Perhaps best known for his role as a valued sideman, he’s left an indelible mark on his work with Captain Beefheart, Tom Waits, PJ Harvey, Robyn Hitchcock, and many others.
Collaborations aside, Tepper is a rare artist on a singular high frequency that spans decades, genres, and mediums. Guided by his process, he paints with bold strokes from the left field and with resoundingly frayed heartstrings. His new LP Building A Nest (5 April 2024 via La Société Expéditionnaire / Candlebone Records) is an intimate and honest window into his depth as a songwriter.
Tepper offers: “The art itself is the decision-making process. Normally, just as in painting, I go and I go, and as I’m going, I may have an idea of what it’s about.”
“The Visitor,” with its sweep and swagger, is a tale that may tell more about ourselves than the title suggests. A declarative (albeit cynical) opening line: “I believe in only as much as I’ve seen and nothing more“, draws us into a web of yearning, enticement, and tide-turning.
Tepper shares, “The narrator here is a lonely, isolated cat. He’s so flattering towards his visitor. He’s an individual who’s been trapped away in desperate isolation.”
The host’s intentions are questionable, as contradictions spin from inviting to convincing, pandering to challenging. He has many questions, but there are signs that he already knows the answers. Surprisingly, amongst the rising horns and shanty’s swell is a shrugged-off confession: “but alas, my chance had passed, maybe once or twice…and I came close.”
Our narrator may or may not be a fictional character, as we’re left to see bits of ourselves with each verse. Dreamers forever waiting for their ship, ruminations on paths not taken, the visitor perhaps merely a version of our own reflection. Art sometimes alludes to a meaning that is not clarified, causing us to look inward. Tepper adds, “That’s the art I’ve always loved the most.”
Pre-Order Building A Nest: https://la-soc.bandcamp.com/