Chloe Mogg – Attack
Had Chloe Mogg been around in the 90s she would headline Lilith Fair. You would know all her songs by heart (and not only because they`d be on a soundtrack to the biggest selling rom – coms of the day) while her phone number would be on Jeff Buckley`s speed dial. Considering how similar and yet unique both artists are – it`s not hard to imagine they would duet or even tour together.
The problem is Chloe Mogg is an upcoming artist and the 90s girl power boom has faded from the mainstream. So unless you have a Tardis and can travel to alternative dimensions, we are left with the landscape of 2020 music industry to entertain us.
And we have come full circle into the past of pop(ular) music. Some 50+ years to be exact – where it`s lads lads lads with views as ugly as their mug shots. No honestly, have anyone seen recent images of Ian Brown? Or his tweets?
In 2020, women hardly exist on the stages everywhere. If in 1997 Lilith Fair grossed 16 million dollars and elevated 35 acts to the charts worldwide, now we have only 4% of females at any given festival. Some large music fetes take real pride that in their 20 years history they had never been headlined by a woman. And we have to have a special directory for female musicians – The F List – in hopes that artists will be noticed and allowed stage time.
You may ask what all this raging has to do with Chloe. Well bloody everything! How can you hear song such as ‘Attack’ and not be royally angry at the state of our industry? If you are able to keep a cool head, you are not paying attention. A giant talent, worthy of a major record label, popped up in the West Midlands and is gathering a loyal following on the indie circuit.
‘Attack’, the third single released by Chloe Mogg this year, is a slow building ballad that places itself somewhere between alternative rock, dream pop and ethereal wave. With blunt, emotional lyrics (referencing an anxiety attack and long term illness) at times the songs feels almost gothic. Chloe Mogg is out of this world, singing like a siren, a cross over between Elizabeth Fraser and Jeff Buckley – both delicate and sharp like a swinging sword. She not only written the song, she also played most instruments on it, helped only by her partner and fellow music collaborator Mirron Webb of Hey Jester. She also produced the track and mastered it. One (wo)man army indeed.
By now every record label should send their rep or A&R to the Second City trying to woo Chloe into their roster with a lucrative three album deal.
The issue is the industry is obsessed with lads in bands that look like they collectively broke out of Azkaban and that is why we can’t have nice things. Well at least not in the top 40.
So do yourself a favour and do things differently. Look up not to the Ian Browns of the world but rather to the Chloe Moggs of this world. This is where talent and integrity currently resides.
Indie Midlands spoke to Chloe Mogg ahead of the release of ‘Attack’ and you can read it here.
Malicia Dabrowicz (Vanadian Avenue)
