Texas Platters

Ian Moore

Anyone expecting Ian Moore to whip out his guitar for a display of masterful six-string pyrotechnics on To Be Loved will be disappointed. His move to Seattle 10 years ago was liberation from the Texas guitar-slinger label mantled on his shoulders as a local youngster, a formidable honor but a rough standard. With To Be Loved, Moore has turned his attention to melody and lyrics with gratifying results. His vocals have a Bowie-esque quality ("To Be Loved," "Literary Kind," "Walk on By"), as does his melodic pop-rock, which connect the disc the way Tom Waits' songs do, maybe not thematically but spiritually and cyclically. If no one expected Moore to dabble in Britpop, so much the better. He comes through not just with flying colors but with killer tracks such as "Civil Light." At 39, Ian Moore's no kid anymore, but his music feels like the neighbor you've lived by all these year and just discovered as a great friend to know.