In the video for their new single “Shaking Off The Evil,” the hard-rocking Moon Fever commit themselves to making a classic variety of heavy music that has become increasingly difficult to find on record store shelves in the last few years. From the jump in this track, it’s pretty obvious that Moon Fever aren’t looking to be typecast by the industry or critics like myself – as much as they might look like they have a lot in common with the mainstream rock pulse, this is a group that dares to be different with the substance of their songcraft more than anything else.
SMART URL : https://lnk.to/ShakingOffTheEvil
Though their influences are on their sleeve from the start, the hook in Moon Fever’s “Shaking Off The Evil” isn’t a throwback to the heady harmonies of Led Zeppelin and Aerosmith at all. There’s a trace amount of evidence that these guys were probably kicking back to some vinyl in between practices when studying the ascent into the chorus here, but the actual sting of the climax is more efficient and punkish than it is classic rock in stylization. It’s a good mixture of the familiar and the experimental, which are two elements that are difficult for any artists to successfully combine.
I really dig the delta swing in the verses, and I think it’s pretty clear that Moon Fever values blues music as much as they do the traditions of rock n’ roll here. They’re putting so much emphasis on the stomp of the beat that there are even a couple of occasions on which the percussion out-swells the string play (an extremely uncommon occurrence in contemporary alternative rock for sure). They’re trying to drive home a point to us with both texture and tonality, which is more than can be said for some of the bigger names on the Billboard charts this August.
Moon Fever prove once and for all in “Shaking Off The Evil” that rock bands really don’t have to include a lot of big guitar solos to get us fired up with their melodic wallop, and this isn’t to say that the fretwork doesn’t impart enough sizzle to satisfy hardcore rockers at all. There’s a smooth balance of elemental sonic attributes in this single that doesn’t let us accuse its composers of being one-dimensional by any stretch of imagination – it confirms their depth as a unit, and more importantly, as performers in the modern age.
“Shaking Off The Evil” is a dark and decadent treat for all who love rock n’ roll revelry, and the last time I checked, that was quite a few of us indeed. Despite hip-hop becoming the most popular and critically acclaimed genre within the pop lexicon over the past twenty years, there’s still a lot of life left for rock to live, and Moon Fever want to be a part of bestowing vitality in their style of music for a new generation of listeners to appreciate. I commend their efforts, and once you hear this for yourself, I believe you will as well.
Garth Thomas