I have been a HUGE fan of Walk the Moon since I heard Anna Sun last year. I loved the song so much I got their album, i want! i want! on their bandcamp page the next day. It was worth every centavo spent. And I kept the album on repeat for months! It was just so easy to get so attached to every single song in the album. It echoed the happiness and despair of youth while sounding lighthearted. I was so happy that I came to love a bad at the stage where they were so indie you can't even find a torrent with their name in it. Today you get thousands of youtube videos from their live performances all over the US. Then a three-track EP was released on iTunes. And just this week, their new album was launched.
Despite having a copy of most of the songs in this album, it couldn't hurt to have yet another version of them, right? Not so much. Weeks before the new album was made available there have been a number of reviews from people who were quite disappointed with the new record, saying i want! i want! was still much better. Here's a nitpicking of the tracks.
Let's start off with the well loved Anna Sun. If you're going all purist with the indie version of it, then you may not like the new version. There's a part in the first chorus that loses the songs continuity. If it's any comfort, the new version only amplified what was already present in the original version of it. Except it amplified that bit in the wrong direction. But don't let that discourage you. Anna Sun was well loved for good reason, and once you're over the rough transition, you'll find this version is just as great as the original. In contrast, Quesadilla was a pleasant surprise. I love this new version. It sounds so much better. And honestly it excites me just thinking how great this would sound live. In great contrast to the rest of the re-recorded tracks, Lisa Baby, for the most part, stuck to the original. Which is okay. If you loved it in i want! i want!, then you'll love it just the same this time. Or maybe even more. I kinda like the improvements they did with it. It's gritty to an extent. And gritty is good. Something also present in Jenny. I Can't Lift A Car was also one that's most pleasant to listen to. I find the new version more polished compared to the overly-blended track in i want! i want!. There was too much going on in the old version, not that I hated it, because I didn't at all. But you get a better appreciation of the song once you hear this well-edited version of it. As you may notice, if anything, you'd see that the band is taking every new thing accessible to them to improve the songs we've long loved. And then there's Iscariot. Which is perhaps the lowest point for me on listening to the album. The i want! i want! version of it, as well as their live/acoustic versions, it were just so brilliant, I just don't understand why they had to take it to a more electric version of it. The blending just broke my heart. Thing is, I understand what they were trying to do, it's just the execution was heart-breaking. Next to Anna Sun, Iscariot was such a favorite. As I try and get over the blending the rest was okay. On to happier things, new songs Shiver Shiver, Fixin', and Lions are a must hear. Something in Fixin' reminds me of The Temper Trap's Drum song, but I'll let you kids figure out what I mean on your own. Also new, but one we've already heard from the band's soundcloud are Tightrope and Next In Line also present. The new songs are all easy to love. Yes, even the barely a minute long Lions. I have a feeling Fixin' is an anthem in the making. I love it already. If you're a friend at Last.fm, expect to see that song on repeat.
After listening to the entire album, I now understand the sentiment. Listening to Walk The Moon's self titled album subjected me to a roller coaster of emotions from elation to disappointment, back and forth. To their credit, the new album sounds cleaner, thanks perhaps to where they've re-recorded this one. And it's great to hear new songs from them as well. All in all, the new album, for all intents and purposes, was an upgraded version of i want! i want!. Some songs of course, more successful than others. I still say it's worth every peso spent. Eventually the changes grow into you. Despite Iscariot, I want to get a vinyl of this one. But first, I'll need a vinyl player.
You can get the new album via iTunes, Amazon, or the band's official store. Also, they'll be touring with Fun. I'm hoping Fun comes to Manila with great hope that they'll be here too. Fun is fun, but Walk the Moon is love. Naaaks!
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