"It goes without saying at this point that Portland's own Mo Douglas is no stranger to a mean groove. Over a small pile of albums released over the past 7 or 8 years (sometimes multiple albums per year), Mo and co-collaborator Mariya May have been steadily tweaking a musical formula through a slew of projects and albums that stitches their varied inspirations into a seamless patchwork that, once assembled, sounds like nothing else - deftly fusing harmony, lightness, and ambience onto some often seriously ass-shaking music. Largely instrumental and always in service to the greater melody, Mo Douglas albums are a steady stream of colorful, suggestive vignettes that are fully fleshed out pieces in their own right, yet always suggestive of that eternal jam where the music doesn't ever stop.

Newest release My Oh My is another well-deserved feather in the cap, lushly produced and densely populated with enough musical interplay and sonic dimension to warrant back-to-back listenings - preferably on headphones to aptly let the psychwash of sound and stratospheric basslines really grab you by the boo boo. From angelic singsong opener "Render Back Love" (prominently featuring vocals by the talented May), to surprisingly ambient shoegaze album closer "Thanks for Meeting Me Here", My Oh My is full of ideas and explorations. Particular standouts are the two aforementioned tracks, as well as the titular "My Oh My" (a proper instrumental send up of Leonard Cohen's original) and the delightfully upbeat "Frog Fairies".

Clocking in at just around twenty minutes, you'll want to run this one another round or two after first listening to make sure you got it all, and then probably again just to make sure. Highly recommended." (Reed Burnam)

Mo Douglas: guitars, bass, drums, percussion, keyboards/synths, etc.
Mariya May: vocals (tr. 1, 4, 7); flute (tr. 2, 6); keyboard (tr. 2)
Peter QB: tenor sax (tr. 4)
Produced & Mixed in Portland by Mo Douglas
Additional Engineering: Mariya May (tr. 1, 2, 4, 7)
Cover Art: Mariya May

1. Render Back Love (Written By Ryan Michael Block & Mariya May)
2. My Oh My (Written by Leonard Cohen & Patrick Leonard / Cover License by Easy Song)
3. Frog Fairies (Written by Ryan Michael Block)
4. An Effort at Understanding (Written by Ryan Michael Block & Mariya May)
5. They Can Put Together a Ball (Written by Ryan Michael Block)
6. An Unspoiled Blend (Written by Ryan Michael Block)
7. Mo's Dirge (Written by Ryan Michael Block)
8. Thanks For Meeting Me Here (Written by Ryan Michael Block)

Tags: experimental, soul, creative music, dream pop, folktronica, underground, Portland, Oregon

Released November 17, 2023

"From Portland Oregon that's the inimitable sound of Mo Douglas, from his brand new album 'My Oh My', and that is the title track. Beautiful flute work on that. I think all Mo Douglas' stuff is very, very strong. You can always tell who it is. Yeah - just a beautiful, languid, labyrinthine sort of wander through that tune there." (Graham Duff)

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