One Foot (Single) - Walk The Moon

Walk The Moon is finally back after nearly 3 years without new music with their brand new single, "One Foot". Riding off the surprise insane success of "Shut Up and Dance", the band follows up 2014's Talking Is Hard with indications that they are fully embracing their pop appeal. "One Foot" is a huge pop anthem, full of 80's vibes and bright poppy synths that are instantaneously catchy and get your feet tapping along. It also features guitars and drums, as the band prominently used in their previous releases as well, but the band has always been good about mixing the synthetic and real instruments. Nicholas Petricca's vocals feel as fantastic as always; his voice has an incredible range, not only in terms of the variety of notes he can reach, but his ability to switch from soft and sweet to these huge moments on the chorus where he's almost shouting with strength and power. There's a specific moment during the second verse (at about the 1:40 mark) where Petricca switches to basically rapping for a couple seconds, which may sound weird in theory but works out perfectly in the moment of the song; he gives it just the intensity it needs for it to come off as genuine and not forced. It feels just as fun as "Shut Up and Dance" felt when it first came out, but the more you listen, the more you begin to realize this song goes a bit deeper than a dance-pop anthem.

Lyrically, the song deals with the notion of moving forward after some sort of hardship. The pre-chorus hints at this:

"Oh, through the wilderness
You and I will walk into the emptiness
Oh, and my heart is a mess
Is it the only defense against the wilderness?"

and leads into the chorus:

"Well, cross my heart and hope to die
Taking this one step at a time
I got your back if you got mine
Oh, one foot in front of the other"

All of this points towards a struggle that has happened/is still happening, but that the best way to move out of "the wilderness" is one step at a time, one small movement forward followed by another. The band gets specific in what the hardship might be with the outro lyrics:

"Oh, in the so-called 'Land of the Free'
One foot in front of the other
Don't you know that all we have is each other?
One foot in front of the other"

Which seems to take a stab at the US and the given political and social tensions regarding race, sexuality, and other subjects that have been hotly debated as of late.

All in all, I think this song is an excellent return for the band. They're embracing their pop appeal without losing the core of who they are, making a radio-ready anthem that has dance vibes but still delivers an encouraging and important message. I'm ready for this one to be all over the radio and the charts, and I can't wait for the rest of the album!

Rating: 4/5

Related: "Million Bucks" by Smallpools, "Molecules" by Atlas Genius, "Something to Believe In" by Young the Giant