Local Review: T. Playwright — THE MOON WATCHES ALL: FABULAM NARARRE.

T. Playwright
THE MOON WATCHES ALL: FABULAM NARARRE.
Self-Released
Street: 07.24.2025
T. Playwright = Will Wood + Tom Waits

Presley, the self-professed “clusterfuck cabaret” behind T. Playwright claims they started producing music in 2022 after seeing a Jerma edit to the tune of “Ruler of Everything” by Tally Hall. After a stint in a high school band, the original demos for THE MOON WATCHES ALL: FABULAM NARARRE. were recorded and released on Halloween of 2023. They were re-recorded and released again in July of last year.

Going into this EP blind, I found my expectations subverted. I was expecting a much more intense record than this actually is. The album cover depicts a man praising the moon in a blood red sky, with the name of the album scrawled in panicked lines. The first track “Hail the Moon / Goodnight and Goodbye” begins with the sounds of a reversed piano and thunder. Rhythmic chanting echoes through the mix. A mother comforts her child with a bedtime story: Goodnight and Goodbye by T. Playwright. Television static cuts in, the song begins, and it’s… a rather cheerful tune actually; A music box and a cabasa mostly. It seems like quite a step down from what was set up.

So, then I thought perhaps it was a Mr. Bungle thing; that the step down was a setup for a subversive punch line, but this album proves to be entirely rather gothic cabaret and circus-esque tunes. “The Last Photo of the Moon” is the next track, and it proves to be fun but a rather disappointing tone for what was set up. I shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but I can’t help but think that this is a record that is asking for just that, and that the actual content deliberately subverts expectations. I just feel that the subversion is less of a twist and more of a misstep here.

There is a very heavy usage of the Andalusian Cadence, a chord progression usual to Spanish and Flamenco music. It’s not an offensive approach on its own by any means, but the fact the chord progression acts as the driving force behind three of the seven songs proves to be rather tiring.

The album closes with two live songs from a set at The Boardwalk in Orem (rest in peace). It’s just Playwright and a piano for the last two songs, “Say Things as You Fear?” and “Ghostly Ragtime.” “Say Things as You Fear?” specifically has a properly recorded single put together last October, which I would argue is a great improvement from the live recording on this EP, where Playwright comes off as rather tense, having issues keeping time and playing. As a matter of fact, I’d say this track is my favorite on the record based on its properly recorded single.

Now, these songs are absolutely not my thing if I haven’t made that clear; I’ve never been a strong fan of the Will Wood or Logan Whitehurst style of songwriting, and I think these songs are rather amateur in nature, but I can’t help but see the potential here. You have to bear in mind that these songs were written about a year and a half into getting into music, and properly re-recorded last year. When considered under these circumstances, these tracks are actually quite impressive. Compare these tracks to T. Playwrights latest singles, “ECSTACY VASECTOMY!” and “DISGRACEFUL BLASPHEMY! FUCK THE THEATRE!”, and the improvement is made even more plainly obvious. T. Playwright’s latest singles are actually very fun listens! I find myself strongly preferring their more recently written material simply on the basis of demonstrating a great deal of improvement in Presley’s songwriting.

So sure, I don’t like these songs, but I wouldn’t completely chalk them up as drivel either. I’d treat THE MOON WATCHES ALL as a case study of self-improvement; that getting better as a musician takes practice and perseverance. I found T. Playwright quite admirable in that sense. T. Playwright states that they plan on a new record soon, pieced together from material going back as far as 2022. I can’t say it’s my style of music, but I won’t say I’m not intrigued and open to having my expectations subverted and leaving pleasantly surprised. THE MOON WATCHES ALL: FABULAM NARARRE. is available on all streaming platforms. —Ezra Smith

Read more music reviews by Ezra Smith:
Local Review: Beatnik — Life Sucks… Then You Dance
Local Review: Modern Speed – Love & Destroy

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