Mortal Prophets is the dream-pop project led by John Beckmann, a unique talent who handles composition, writing, and production. On their album, “Hide Inside The Moon,” Beckmann broadens the project’s emotional range by adding two new voices: Tanner McGraw on lead vocals and Lawson Mars on backing vocals. Together, they give the album a hauntingly human core. It’s intimate, fragile, and oddly familiar.
Musically, the album blends psychedelic dream-pop, noir pop, and ambient sound. Shades of Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and Robert Wyatt add a sense of spirit rather than imitation, crafting a sound that feels playful yet ghostly, quiet yet expansive. The production is smooth and immersive, featuring soft guitars, drifting keys, analog warmth, and slowly developing textures that blur time and space.
The album begins with “Mad Girls Love Song (Sylvia Plath),” opening with an invocation instead of a bold statement. Inspired by Plath’s poem, this track sets the album’s dreamlike tone: obsession, absence, and emotional cycles. The vocals are tender and haunted, delivered with a fragile calm that contrasts with the emotional turmoil underneath. It’s a quietly powerful start.
In “Eyes In The Sky,” surveillance serves as a metaphor, not for technology, but for memory and self-awareness. The song floats on echoing guitars and developing synths, with vocals that seem sung just behind the listener’s thoughts. There’s a feeling of being observed by one’s past.
Sultry and mysterious, “Blue Velvet” embraces noir-pop elements. The instrumentation feels dim, with reverb-laden melodies and a slow, steady beat. The vocals glide instead of commanding and reinforce the album’s preference for seduction over boldness.
One of the album’s key themes, “My Future Past,” views time as a loop rather than a straight line. Lyrically and emotionally, this song captures the strange feeling of recalling things that haven’t happened yet. The performance is restrained but heavy with emotion, with harmonies that reflect overlapping timelines.
Abstract and meditative, “Desert Of No End (Cy Twombly)” echoes Twombly’s visual simplicity through sound. The sparse instrumentation extends into open sonic spaces, suggesting isolation, endurance, and the beauty of emptiness. The vocals feel almost incidental, more like a presence than a performance.
The title track, “Hide Inside The Moon,” acts as the emotional center of the album. It’s about retreat, safety, and the wish to disappear without getting lost. The arrangement builds gently, never hitting a climax; it keeps a sense of suspended weight. The vocals here feel intimate, almost confessional, drawing you closer.
The seventh track, “Devil Doll,” introduces a darker, more playful tone. There’s a surreal theatricality here, with vocal delivery that hints at menace and irony. Instrumentally, it balances sweetness with unease, like a broken toy humming softly.
Moving forward, “I Forgot I Love You” reaches a quietly heartbreaking moment. The title alone carries emotional depth, and the song delivers with subtle power. The vocals are bare and vulnerable, supported by minimal and beautiful instrumentation that allows every nuance to resonate.
Esoteric and ritualistic, “I Am A Hermit (Kenneth Anger–Puce Moment)” embraces vibes from occult cinema. The production has a grainy, dreamlike quality, as if seen through a filter of analog decay. The vocals move between declaration and incantation, enhancing the song’s introspective mystique.
Rather than offering optimism, “Good Karma” presents resignation wrapped in gentle warmth. The melody feels comforting, but an undertone of quiet doubt remains. The backing vocals shimmer like lingering images, adding emotional layers.
A slow-burning, meditative piece, “Not By Light Nor By Flame” feels almost spiritual. The instrumentation glows softly, while the vocals express surrender instead of victory. It stands out as one of the album’s most reflective moments to me.
“Through Colors” examines perception itself: how emotion shapes reality. Rich in sound, this song’s layers of textures feel prismatic and ever-changing. The performance is fluid and expressive, sharpening the song’s sensory focus.
Playful, strange, and tender, “I’m Her Honey” exudes fragile sweetness. There’s a sense of devotion mixed with vulnerability, conveyed through gentle melodies and soft vocals that feel whispered rather than sung.
Romantic and cinematic, track fourteen, titled “Fight Beneath The Stars,” portrays a slow-motion conflict under an endless sky. The instrumentation swells subtly, while the vocals show quiet determination instead of aggression.
An intellectual and poetic reference, “Gertrude Stein (Mina Loy)” plays with repetition, language, and structure. The vocals feel intentionally paced, reflecting modernist experimentation while staying emotionally grounded.
Finally, the album closes not with resolution, but with acceptance in “Twilight’s Last Embrace.” This final track conveys the feeling of dusk settling, calm, reflective, and softly melancholic. The music slowly fades, leaving you in an emotional afterglow.
Tanner McGraw’s lead vocals are vital to the album’s emotional impact. His delivery is intimate and understated, focusing on vulnerability rather than showiness. Lawson Mars’ backing vocals act like emotional echoes. Sometimes reinforcing, sometimes unsettling the lead, always adding depth. Together, they create a vocal landscape that feels human, fragile, and deeply expressive.
Beckmann’s production is careful without being clinical. The album breathes. The instruments fade naturally, the reverb stretches into silence, and imperfections are left intact. This gives “Hide Inside The Moon” its unique warmth and dreamlike consistency.
Overall, “Hide Inside The Moon” is an album we experience, not just listen to. Mortal Prophets have crafted a record that values subtlety, embraces fragility, and recognizes the power of atmosphere. It’s music for late nights, transitional spaces, and quiet moments when memory and imagination mix.
Listen to the “Hide Inside The Moon” album on Spotify.
Follow Mortal Prophets here for more information.
