Star Moles

BIOGRAPHY

Star Moles is the recording name of Emily Moales, who began releasing music under the moniker in 2017. Based in Philadelphia and originally from New Hampshire, she trained vocally through choir and theater, growing up on the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones before Pandora's 'Hipster Halloween Radio' station introduced her to Enya, the Velvet Underground and Lord of the Rings scores, shaping a sound that pairs pop and indie songwriting with off-kilter, folk-inspired instrumentation. After self-releasing singles and EPs on Bandcamp, she connected with producer Kevin Basko, resulting in her 2018 debut album Camelot. Her catalog has since grown to include literary-minded projects referencing Arthurian legend and Andreas Capellanus, culminating in Highway to Hell (2026), her ninth canonical album, made mostly with piano, acoustic guitar and hand-drums. She is part of the Historic New Jersey Recordings collective alongside Rubber Band Gun, Sam and Louise Sullivan, and Hot Machine.

WHY THEY'RE COOL

Highway to Hell has drawn notice as one of the better-sounding lo-fi releases in recent memory, with critics likening Moales's melancholic whimsy and clever, loose arrangements to Joni Mitchell. The record trades her earlier literary conceits (Arthurian legend, medieval courtly love treatises) for more personal, improvisational songwriting, built from an eight-year creative partnership with producer Kevin Basko that began with her 2018 debut Camelot and continues through their shared work in the Historic New Jersey Recordings collective.

GEORGE'S PLAYS

First time on the station.

PLAYED ON WOKE1

• Real Magic1 PLAY