Under an Endless Sky

Album review

Dorothy Moskowitz is best remembered by obsessive music fans as the vocalist and lyricist with the United States of America, the groundbreaking psychedelic rock band whose embrace of electronics and experimental composition techniques made them cult heroes based on their self-titled 1968 debut album, though the same forward-thinking attitude also prevented them from connecting with a mass audience. While Moskowitz has had a long and diverse career in the arts since that group dissolved, the work still casts a long shadow, and decades later she alludes to the band in the name of her 2020s ensemble, Dorothy Moskowitz & the United States of Alchemy. A collaboration with Italian electronic composer Francesco Paolo Paladino and writer Luca Chino Ferrari, the United States of Alchemy's first album, 2023's Under an Endless Sky, will certainly appeal to music fans with a sense of adventure, but anyone imagining a return to the sound of Moskowitz's work in the '60s will be in for a surprise. Under an Endless Sky, especially in its 23-minute title track, sounds like a cross between the accessible end of avant-garde music and the work of minimalist composers like Philip Glass and Steve Reich. Repeated patterns played on keyboards, accordions, and woodwinds churn away at length while violins and horns punctuate the sound with additional details as Moskowitz intones her poetic contemplations, which play as narration and additional instrumentation at the same time. It's absorbing, thoughtful, and well-crafted, but those hoping to relive the heady joys of "The American Metaphysical Circus" or "Love Song for the Dead Che" will need to adjust their expectations. Moskowitz feels in no way beholden to her past, and these billowing clouds of sound feel like a bold, uncompromising expression of her musical ideas in the 21st century and the sound of an artist confidently exploring new worlds. Under an Endless Sky is not the United States of America, nor does it need to be. This is music that confirms Dorothy Moskowitz is a seeker looking forward, and what she sees is well worth hearing.
© Mark Deming /TiVo