Tag: Walk the Moon

Walk The Moon – Timebomb

“Look at me! I’m complimenting a track!”

Tom: Or “WALK THE MOON” as they’re apparently loudly styled now, but frankly that can do one. The question is, of course, is this ‘new track in familiar style’ or ‘just a slight change Shut Up And Dance again’?

Tim: That is…horrific artwork, once you start to see the silhouette of the guy as if his head’s at the back, the legs are at the front, and the light’s shining out of his, well. But the sound.

Tom: I’ll be honest, I was expecting to be far more cynical about this. I mean, the guitar sound’s the same, and the structure is roughly Shut Up And Dance, but it’s very clearly a different and new track.

Tim: Yeah, it’s pretty good. It doesn’t have the same immediate appreciation from me that Shut Up Dance, Different Colors or One Foot did, but sure – let’s have it.

Tom: And that lead vocal is great, in a way that I’m not sure earlier singles demonstrated: there are shades of Adam Levine in there, and given that he’s one of the best pop vocalists currently working, that’s a compliment. Look at me! I’m complimenting a track! That’s getting increasingly rare!

Walk The Moon – One Foot

“A spectacular amount of energy.”

Tim: So, with Different Colors and Shut Up And Dance under their belt, it was always going to be tricky for Walk The Moon to come back for their second album. Here’s the first track from it, and, well, there’s more than one moment in here that makes me go OH YES.

Tim: The main one, you can probably guess, was the loss of the instrumental and the shouted “one foot in front of the other” before the first chorus. It’s a cheap trick, and not remotely original, but when it works: man, it really works.

Tom: You’re right about that — and they’ve arguably solved the problem of how to bring the modern two-chorus dance-pop structure into a slightly more credible track, too. What else did you like?

Tim: An opening verse that’s “yeah, this’ll do nicely”…

Tom: And which, arguably, owes at least a tip of the hat to Jason Derulo, but at least they didn’t sing their own name at any point.

Tim: …a pre-chorus that ramps things up well and includes the trademark ‘wooo-oooh’s, and then that single “IT’S HERE” line. As with Friday’s track, I don’t know how much is dependent on my mood before hearing the track – hopefully not too much – but after finishing the track I pressed play again, and when the chorus came round again I had my hands in the air clapping along.

Tom: Yep. There is a spectacular amount of energy in this song, which I suppose I shouldn’t have been surprised by.

Tim: I’ll be honest: if you told me last week that it was two years since their album dropped, I’d say ‘YOU WHAT’, but yes it has, and now they’re back with this, and HOT DAMN I’m alright with it. Don’t think I’ve ever in my life said HOT DAMN before, but apparently this track requires it.

Walk the Moon – Different Colors

“How do you not think this is brilliant?”

Tom: Remember how “Shut Up and Dance” was the kind of astonishing, one-hit wonder song that could never be repeated? A song which every one of their singles will be judged against in future?

Tim: Oh yes.

Tom: So the question is: can lightning strike twice? Can they manage it a second time?

Tom: No.

Tim: Aww, see now I feel guilty, because you were clearly going for a mic drop moment there, which might have been great, but I’m sorry, I can’t let you have that.

Tom: You ruined my mic drop. I can’t believe you ruined my mic drop.

Tim: Well, you gave me no choice, because this is a fantastic track, and one of my favourites on their album. Sure, it’s no Shut Up and Dance, but then your description of it as “could never be repeated” kind of forced that. But the “ooooh-ee-ooo-ee-ooooh” is a lovely riff, the “different colours” follow-on from that is is a fine shout-along bit, and the “we know the kids are right” is a great close to the chorus (fairly sure it’s used elsewhere, but that prevents nothing). How do you not think this is brilliant?

Tom: Because while there are good moments in there — you’ve mentioned them — they’re not that good. I can’t remember a bit of it. In short: it doesn’t make me shut up and dance.

Saturday Flashback: Walk The Moon – Shut Up and Dance

“It’s a GREAT track.”

Tim: The playlist at work just got updated for the first time in about two years, and THIS is on it, which is good because it’s a GREAT track.

Tom: Bloody hell, he looks like the love child of Scott Mills and Greg James.

Tim: He dopes look good, doesn’t he? Also good are the lyrics, from “This woman is my destiny” to the straight up, stop messing about, SHUT UP AND DANCE. The music doesn’t let up, there’s a great “woo-ooh!” bit in the chorus and basically all you really want to do it shut up and dance.

Tom: Yep, agreed: this is a fantastic track. Even that “oh, come on, girl!” into the solo doesn’t kill it — and what a middle eight that is, too.

Tim: Good – glad we agree so now allow me to ruin it for you. OH YES. Hear the chorus again, listen to the vocal, the shouted SHUT UP AND DANCE, bear it in mind. Then cast your thoughts back to the Saturday nights of a few summers ago, and the audiovisual tripe that was John Barrowman’s Tonight’s The Night, which if you’ll recall opened with him murdering any particular song in an attempt to get everyone going.

Tom: You know what? I never actually saw that show, and now I hate you for introducing it to me. To be fair, he’s a great performer: it’s just the show’s from about thirty years earlier.

Tim: You’ve really never seen that I Got A Feeling clip? Blimey, I almost actually feel sorry for showing it to you. But now I have, I might as well continue: wouldn’t this be a perfect song for him to sing? Can’t you just imagine it? JUST IMAGINE IT.

Tom: Thanks, Tim. Thanks a lot.

Tim: Well, that’s what I’m here for.