Is "breaking the internet" still a phrase people use? Will writers type that out to describe Taylor Swift's Reputation album release? Perhaps, but personally I care very little for this "new" Taylor, whoever she is. Music artists, especially those in the pop world change their images all the time. Why does she make such a big deal about how much different she has become? I really enjoyed 1989, but as I finished listening to "Look What You Made Me Do," I lost hope for liking her next album.
Fret not because Walk The Moon, Ohio-bred indie pop rock band released their long awaited album, What If Nothing after three years. All I have to say is this:
THANK YOU, GOD.
If we're being honest, I cannot consider myself a diehard Walk the Moon fan. I started liking them after "Shut Up and Dance With Me" made it to mainstream radiowaves (I can hear your sighs from here). However, I really, really enjoyed their last album Talking Is Hard not just for the relatable album name but for the fresh, catchy, feel good music that just lifted my mood whenever I listened to it
Their absence does not go without reason, as frontman Nick Petricca's father passed away from Alzheimer's in February of 2017, which reasonably halted production on top of Petricca's long term love splitting. The band also lost their bassist due to a nearly career threatening shoulder injury, and the members felt themselves slowly drift apart from each other. But on November 10th, Walk the Moon released What If Nothing, the same day as Taylor Swift's Reputation.
It feels nice to hear music from Walk the Moon again, with "One Foot," one of the lead singles, resembles the energetic sound paired with Petricca's famed falsetto. "Shut Up And Dance" may have been their breakout hit, but the band worried about how its popularity would affect the kind of music they would make going forward.
What If Nothing sounds like a whole bunch of music. The album as a whole feels more mellow than their last one. Some songs seem almost ghostly, like "Can't Sleep (Wolves)" with a guitar riff that passes by you like a car on a highway. "Sound of Awakening", a six minute song with a slight metallic synthesizer vocoder that starts off in distant "In the Air Tonight" vibes, and it also happens to be one of my personal favorite tracks. Then you have headphones, an "angry boy energy" song with guitar riffs reminiscent of the band Neon Trees.
Overall, What If Nothing still gives listeners that sleek, soaked in both familiar and experimental synth pop rock fusion we all enjoyed listening to the first time, so I highly recommend giving the album a listen if you have not already.
