• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Crushing Krisis

The Newest Oldest Blog In New Zealand

  • DC Guides
    • DC Events
    • DC New 52
    • DC Rebirth
    • Batman Guide
    • The Sandman Universe
  • Marvel Guides
    • Marvel Events
    • Captain America Guide
    • Iron Man Guide
    • Spider-Man Guide (1963-2018)
    • Spider-Man Guide (2018-Present)
    • Thor Guide
    • X-Men Reading Order
  • Indie & Licensed Comics
    • Spawn
    • Star Wars Guide
      • Expanded Universe Comics (2015 – present)
      • Legends Comics (1977 – 2014)
    • Valiant Guides
  • Drag
    • Canada’s Drag Race
    • Drag Race Belgique
    • Drag Race Down Under
    • Drag Race Sverige (Sweden)
    • Drag Race France
    • Drag Race Philippines
    • Dragula
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race
    • RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars
  • Archive
  • Contact!
You are here: Home / consume / reviews / Review: Talking Is Hard – Walk The Moon

Review: Talking Is Hard – Walk The Moon

September 7, 2015 by krisis

walk-the-moon-talking-is-hard

Walk The Moon – Talking Is Hard, 20144.5 stars

I am terrified that Walk the Moon are going to be a one-hit wonder.

Let’s be honest – “Shut Up and Dance With Me” is absolutely that kind of song. A “867-5309” or a “Jessie’s Girl” or “Take Me Home Tonight,” an exuberant male anthem of sudden and unrequited affection that might not last past its consummation, complete with a shimmering and anthemic chorus and a quick solo into a refrain. It feels like that.

I’m terrified for them, because it’s clear they did it intentionally. They do it again and again on Talking Is Hard. I added it to my collection begrudgingly to learn the single for our cover band, and after one listen it became the first LP to supplant 1989 in the “unadulterated pop perfection” category that the most earwormy albums scratch for me.

Opener (and new single) “Different Colors” feels very of-this-moment and modern rock-y. You know the thing: snotty vocals, throbbing synths intertwined with guitar, wordless falsetto hook. There’s something about the refrain, “this is why, this is why … we bite the bullet, we know the kids are right.” It’s something more than the now of modern rock. It’s like Third Eye Blind crossed with Duran Duran. They hit the latter harder on “Spend Your $$$” but it also has a certain Talking Heads quality with the repeated breaks into falsetto, with a little flavor of “Psychokiller.”

The lack of surprise is the surprising thing about this album. It’s of this moment, but it’s not about trends. Yes, there’s “Portugal,” where the synths quote the vocals and visa versa so many times that you’ll lose track of which is doing which at what point in the song. Yet, even there is the plaintive, “Take me with you, ’cause even on your own you’re not alone.” Nicholas Petricca’s voice is pliant and sweet, with just the right amount of explosive belt before an able and imperfect falsetto, in the pop-crossover male mold set by Brandon Flowers last decade.

Just as the guitar intro to “Shut Up and Dance” is pure Edge with the churning arpeggio atop a sparking delay effect, and just as it apes those infatuated 80s anthems, the entire album is a careful study in wearing your influences on your sleeve. “Work This Body” pure Paul Simon without the self-awareness of Vampire Weekend, a well they hit again on the chorus of “Sidekick.”Aquaman” is almost a straight up cover of “Sexual Healing” via its canned drums and synths, but there’s something so “In Your Eyes” about each phrase of the melody.

Only occasionally does it get so by-the-numbers anthemic that you could be a little cynical about it – on the very OK Go “Up To You,” the post-Franz Ferdinand “Down In The Dumps,” and the by-the-numbers single “We Are The Kids,” but if those are the weak tracks on your album you are doing something very, very right.

Walk The Moon is doing something very, very right. I stand in the kitchen and debate with spirit what ought to be the next single. Every song is mentioned. I hum and whistle the hooks on my walk to the bus when the songs are not even on. I am still not sick of “Shut Up and Dance With Me” despite listening to it 100s of times to get the rhythms just right for our cover, but it is no longer the song I am most excited to hear on this album.

You can be a band that wants to sound 80s, or you can be band that knows the playbook of a decade so back-to-front that your album feels like a piece of it despite being completely modern as well. That’s what Talking Is Hard is – and it’s an instant classic.

Honestly, I don’t think I need to be too worried about the one-hit-wonderdom of a band who can string together 11 potential singles on a 12 song album. I think I’m less terrified for them as I am for myself, because I need other people to understand how perfect the album is and mythologize it they way they do other single-laden breakthroughs like Jagged Little Pill or Songs About Jane. It’s that good.

Related posts:

  1. the shocking discovery I made about boy bands may or may not shock you
  2. The Ultimate 1989 Mix Tape, by Swift & Adams
  3. Moon Knight – The Definitive Collecting Guide & Reading Order

Filed Under: reviews

Previous Post: « into the toddler groove
Next Post: Ex Machina is the worst movie I have seen in 2015 »

Primary Sidebar


Support Crushing Krisis on Patreon
Support CK
on Patreon


Follow me on Twitter Contact me Watch me on Youtube Subscribe to the CK RSS Feed

About CK

About Crushing Krisis
About My Music
About Your Author
Blog Archive
Comics Blogs Only
Contact Krisis
Terms & Conditions

Crushing Comics

Marvel Comics

Marvel Events Guide

Spider-Man Guide

DC Comics

  • New for Patrons: Guide to Pitt by Dale Keown
    Revisit one of the first Image Comics characters launched outside of the imprints of the six founders with my Guide to Pitt by Dale Keown. […]
  • Guide to SupremeNew for Patrons: Guide to Supreme
    Follow Rob Liefeld's Superman riff from his humble start in Youngblood to an Eisner-Award winning run by Alan Moore in my Guide to Supreme. […]
  • Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Episode 4 – “Snatch Game” & Mitt Liv Som Tant runway Review & Power Ranking
    A surprising return and a shocking elimination sucked the air out of an entertaining Snatch Game and old lady runway on Drag Race Sverige. […]
  • Guide to Codename StrykeforceNew For Patrons: Guide to Codename Strykeforce
    My Guide to Codename Strykeforce covers Cyberforce's short-lived sibling, which proved the rule that every team needed a mercenary spinoff. […]
  • Guide to CyberforceNew for Patrons: Guide to Cyberforce by Marc Silvestri
    This Guide to Cyberforce covers the title that launched the last of original six Image Comics imprints, Marc Silvestri's Top Cow Productions. […]
  • Guide to Doom PatrolUpdated: Guide to Doom Patrol
    In 2022 DC collected Rachel Pollack's beloved run on the 1987 Doom Patrol series for the first time! Find that and every other collection! […]
  • Drag Race Belgique Season 1, Episode 6 – “A deux c’est mieu!” makeover challenge Review and Power Ranking
    A deux c’est mieu - two are better! That's the case for the queens of Drag Race Belgique, as they create daughters out of RTBF personalities. […]
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 15, Episode 13 – “Teacher Makeovers” Review & Power Ranking
    The final five of RuPaul's Drag Race Season 15 were challenged with Teacher Makeovers, a subjective challenge that yielded a preordained result from production. […]
  • Guide to X-Men Flagships, 2010-2019Updated: Guide to X-Men flagship titles, 2010 – 2019
    Sometimes X-Men comics make the most sense with a health dose of hindsight. That's why my all-new Guide to X-Men flagship series (2010-2019) makes sense in an all-different way compared to my previous guides covering this period. […]
  • New for Patrons: Guide to Drax the Destroyer
    Learn about the many eras of Drax the Destroyer in my new Guide to Drax, including how the MCU pulled one major detail from each incarnation. […]
  • Guide to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IDW ContinuityNew for Patrons: Guide to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IDW Continuity
    Dig into over 200 issues of turtle power in perfect story order with my Guide to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles comics at IDW! […]
  • Drag Race Sverige Season 1, Episode 3 – “Drag-a’-mera!” design challenge Review & Power Ranking
    The queens of Drag Race Sverige stress over a Drag-a'-mera unconventional materials design challenge and a pair of intimidating judges in Christer Lindarw & Fredrik Robertsson. […]
  • New for Patrons: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – Guide to Mirage Studios Continuity
    Curious about the b&w indie comic origins of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? my Guide to Mirage Studios Continuity covers every issue! […]
  • Drag Race Belgique Season 1, Episode 5 – Snatch Game & Night of 1001 Audrey Hepburns Runway
    The queens of Belgique compete in a oddly low-key Snatch Game and a Night of 1001 Audrey Hepburns runway that emphasized realness over glam. […]

Layout copyright © 2017 · Foodie Pro Theme by Shay Bocks · Built on the Genesis Framework · Powered by WordPress

Links from Crushing Krisis to retailer websites may be in the form of affiliate links. If you purchase through an affiliate link I will receive a minor credit as your referrer. My credit does not affect your purchase price. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to: Amazon Services LLC Associates Program (in the US, UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, and Spain), eBay Partner Network, and iTunes Affiliate Program.