The two lead singles, "One Foot" and "Headphones", were both solid introductions to the new era of Walk The Moon (click on the links above for my thoughts on each song). With the rest of the album out, it's easy to see that the band chose to explore even more ground in their latest release. Songs like "Press Restart", "Sound of Awakening", "Kamikaze", "All Night", and "Tiger Teeth" each explore different areas that the band had not previously delved into with their first two albums.
"Press Restart" builds from minimalistic vocals and subdued guitar into a electronic heavy, pulsing track. There are a lot of vocal effects introduced that end up making appearances throughout the album, and a lot of layering of multiple vocal lines that range from the low end to high end of Petricca's range. The song ebbs and flows, building and pulling back, with the peak happening right before the 3 minute mark as Petricca builds the intensity of his vocals and the instrumental follows until the song explodes into the final, multi-layered chorus that ends with a very cool choir vocal ending.
"Sound of Awakening" is probably the most unique song on the album. From the opening vocals, it is apparent that the band has been listening to a lot of Phil Collins. The first non vocal aspect of the song doesn't appear until just after a minute and a half into the song, which is just a quarter of it's six-plus minute length. The vocal effects show up again on this song, accompanied by heavy electronic elements that come together to create this sprawling, 80's-inspired epic piece. The song has a verse-chorus type format, but does not feel similar to the structure of other songs on the album or in general. It rises and falls spectacularly, with the highs and lows captivating the listener at each turn and leaves them wanting more.
"Kamikaze", one of the other songs released before the album release date (but not an official single), feels very similar to something Imagine Dragons would put out (which I discovered is a shared observation amongst other reviews). It's very alternative/pop oriented, with a little use of guitar and drums on the alternative end and synth and drum machines on the pop end coming together for a pulsating song that's very compelling. The vocals are my favorite aspect of the track, with Petricca swinging between soaring vocal lines and almost-rap lines that create great contrast (which I'm always a fan of).
"All Night" is another song that utilizes a mixing of pop and alternative-rock elements to create a very upbeat and radio/arena ready song. The synth lines are more prominent in this song, but are themselves distorted in the way that a guitar would be, creating a really high-energy song that emulates rock without using it. Seeing as how I think the mainstream music industry is going to move further into the synthesized area, this makes sense and shows the band's ability to identify current trends and incorporate them without disregarding their own sense of self. The verses on this song intrigue me more than the chorus, which is a reversal of how I find it tends to be. They bounce more, feeling more unique while the chorus is a bit too repetitive for my taste and lacking that special, compelling element that a lot of the other songs have.
"Tiger Teeth" begins with just synths for the first minute, finally incorporating vocal elements to emerge fully as a slower, 80's synths driven love song. It's one of the slowest songs on the album, if not the slowest, providing some contrast to the higher energy and faster-paced song and showing the ability to switch gears. The vocals are very pretty and soothing, as is the rest of the song, and the emotions conveyed there are reflected in the instrumental. It feels a lot like some of the material from Talking Is Hard, but even more 80's influence than a lot of the songs on that album.
Other songs show that the band wanted to take their signature sound and comfort zone and retain that while expanding. Songs like "Surrender", "Feels Good To Be High", "Can't Sleep (Wolves)", and "Lost In The Wild" capture the sound that fans have grown to expect from the group while pushing the envelope.
"Surrender" was the third single released from the album, and the U2 influence was very obvious from the beginning of the track. The piano line from this track is one of the more unique aspects, being minimally processed and natural unlike many other elements on the song and the rest of the album. That combined with Petricca's vocals would be enough (I'm really hoping for an acoustic/piano-vocal only version at some point), as he shows off his range while delivering what he has described as some of his most emotionally revealing lyrics. The song builds incredibly, soaring high above the earth with the driving beat, the echoing guitar lines, pulsating synths, and the piano and vocals creating one of their strongest songs to date. The mood sways between sorrowful and hopeful, keeping you on the edge of dispair but never taking you over. The song is beautiful, absolutely beautiful.
"Feels Good To Be High" brings in more of the alternative rock elements, stripping away the layers of synths to focus more on the drumset and bass that guide the verses. They're joined by a very 70's sounding guitar line on the chorus and a distorted synth line as Petricca shows off his falsetto over the energetic instrumental (another nice use of contrast). The bridge shifts gears, with the synth taking over until a voice over says "Doesn't matter if it doesn't make my heart go" and the synth immitates a heart beat slowly building in intensity; a very cool use of technology and sounds.
"Can't Sleep (Wolves)" also has more of a grounding in live instruments, a echoing guitar line leading the song as the drums snap with precision. The vocals are the focal point, with the build of Petricca's vocals on the pre-chorus starting lower and slowly climbing in pitch and intensity to the peak line "Wolves are coming for me" shows an excellent use of the music to accentuate the lyrics. It's not super fast paced, but it grooves along nonetheless in what is sure to be a fantastic summer song.
"Lost In The Wild" closes out the album with a good mixing of the natural and synthetic elements found all throughout the album. The chorus uses some of Petricca's highest vocals as well as layering of multiple vocal lines, all accompanied by a bright and pulsating instrumental that feels a bit like a hidden gem at the end of the album (where some people never make it to).
This album has a lot of strong elements; perhaps too much. The experimentation was very well executed in some cases, but not always, and that led to a bit of inconsistency in the flow of the album as a whole. Certain songs felt like they lost themselves in the new elements and were hard to find a focal point to grasp onto. However, Walk The Moon managed to show that struggles and hardships won't get them down; in fact, it fueled them to come back and create strong and powerful music out of those trials. I don't know if this'll be my favorite overall album from the band (Talking Is Hard holds that spot for now), but it definitely contains some of the best songs I've heard from the band, and makes me excited for the what the future holds for this group that is clearly not letting of the gas pedal anytime soon.
Rating: 3.5/5
Recommended: "Headphones", "Surrender", "Kamikaze", "Lost In The Wild"
Related: Smallpools, Young The Giant, The Mowgil's
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