Album Review: Walk The Moon – Talking Is Hard

Walk the Moon is a four piece band out of Cincinnati, Ohio and they’ve been churning out delicious alt-pop songs since ’08. They had me hooked with “Anna Sun” two years ago from their self-titled debut album. I don’t know what
happened in the past two years, because ‘Talking is Hard’ is definitely an improvement but there are some things I really hate.

Walk The Moon’s latest album certainly continues the easy dancing theme with their heavy indie pop songs. They play an addictive, pop-rock ditty with a boasting 80’s build-up. First track “Different Colours,” is one of their best songs. The seriousness in the lyrics crossed onto their voices shows this was one to wow fans over with. From the get-go, Different Colours is a resplendent, mid-tempo anthem that’s begging for single treatment. Moving on to “Sidekick.” In the band’s Spotify commentary for the album, Petricca aptly describes the “funky disco-vibes” and “bubbly synthesizers” of the song. He also admitted that the song is a “semi-embarrassing true story,” which makes this adorable little love song all the sweeter. The song has this really positive, upbeat tone. “Work This Body” is equally as feel good and uplifting. The opening claps and energy of the track showcase the album’s motivating side. The pounding of the keys and constantly changing percussion make it the track to work/workout to, but be warned you may break into dance instead of a run.

Now, their hit single and leading song “Shut Up and Dance”. When I first showed my mates, they hated the high guitar riffs in the chorus, but I knew it would be a hit. And what you know, it’s had over 126 million plays on Spotify, seen in an Amazon advert, played on numerous UK shows like ‘The Paul O’Grady show. ‘Shut Up and Dance’ It’s an addictive, pop-rock ditty, boasting 80’s build-up verses and a racing, flirty chorus both in melody and lyrics. The closing credits-ready anthem that oozes upbeat romantic enthusiasm. It should have no problem breaking into hit music’s airwaves. Especially with the classic boy-meets-girl storyline bares resemblance to “Anna Sun” off the band’s debut self-titled album. So who’s wrong now?

“Up 2 You” and “Spend Your $$$” are what bring this album down – Nicholas Petricca’s eccentricity on numbers, much of it hailing from the 80s. It doesn’t match the rest of the album and is just mental. The guitars sound wrong and the piano doesn’t carry the same flow which is an awful display from the talented band.

“Portugal,” a synth-driven, slower song, burns the energy given off from the techno music. It kind of acts as an intermission without being one that prepares for the second half of the album. “Avalanche” and “Down In the Dumps” are similar to ‘Different Colours’ a very serious, but perfectly written pop/rock love song. Petricca drifts through the upper half of his vocal range. He also hits hard lyrically. With lines like “you grow up when I’m not looking / we grow apart without knowing,” he makes the song sweet, but also kind of decimating. During the song’s breakdown, Petricca sings “no matter what you want / somebody else wants it just as bad / no matter what you got / somebody else has got it worse / no matter when I got to you somebody else got to you first.” It’s a simple sentiment, but as usual Petricca hits right on the mark. His lyrics have always been well-crafted and concise and “Portugal” may be lyrically some of his best work.

None of the faults will actually derail Talking is Hard’s progress as overall the album is pretty decent. Walk the Moon had an excellent start in 2012, with songs like “Anna Sun” and “Jenny”, which in the new album sound very similarly to “Shut Up and Dance” and “Avalanche”. A dance album that can last a life time.