SHREDnews

It’s now been over 9 months since the San Diego foursome ‘We Shot The Moon’ first entered the studio with acclaimed producer Mike Green (Paramore, The Matches, The Higher) to lay down tracks for their sophomore album, A Silver Lining. Initially the band intended for a summer release but various factors – including a jam-packed touring schedule and signing to Afternoon Records in June – set back the premiere date to 13^th October (November 22^nd Physical release). In true WSTM style the guys – Jonathan Jones (Vocals/Piano), Trevor Faris (Drums), Adam Lovell (Bass) and Jason De La Torre (Guitar) – made sure to keep their fans happy during their long wait by releasing various video updates, album teasers and by even giving away their first album (Fear and Love) absolutely free. So, after almost a year, was A Silver Lining worth the wait?

Heck yes!

An edgy mix of fast guitar picking and melodic piano kick-starts opener Miracle, a rocky track with an anthemic chorus. Jones’s songwriting ability shines through as he recounts feeling temporarily lost in life, his search for meaning and place. His words manage to sound simultaneously simplistic and deep, I’m sure any listeners will find a way to relate to this enchanting opener. The band go slightly techno on track three, experimenting with synth sounds and vocal effects before leading into another successfully catchy chorus. ‘Should Have Been’ reminisces a failed relationship and bitter feelings towards its cause, certainly a perfect track for someone looking to let go of that breakup once and for all.  Jump in the car, whack up the volume to ‘Should have been’ and sing at the top of your lungs. I guarantee you’ll feel great – broken hearted or not.

Track four, the upbeat ‘The Brightside’ is WSTM’s chosen first single from A Silver Lining and aptly so. The song contains everything needed to hook in a potential new listener – a catchy chorus, beautiful vocals and WSTM’s insatiable mix of rock with piano – and focuses on the more positive aspects of life, perfectly matching the music. I particularly like the daring changes in tempo on this track, it begins slow, almost ballad-like with just Jones accompanied by the piano and then in jumps the rest of the band with their catchy beats and guitar solo’s. The song continues like this throughout bringing a refreshing change to your average catchy pop/rock song.

An almost Arctic Monkeys guitar riff opens half-way track ‘Red Night’ a slightly darker sounding track to its predecessors. The funked up bass line and post-chorus guitar solo make this track a little indie gem hidden amongst the pop/rock. What’s impressive is that WSTM can crack a song in this style whilst still keeping their trademark ’stuck in your head for days’ melodic chorus, and it really seems to work on this track. Title track ‘A Silver Lining’ marks the return of Jones’s trusty piano but also see’s the band take the tempo down a notch. The almost haunting harmonies that accompany the track give the song a dreamlike feel, perfectly reflecting the subject matter and lullaby melodies – a song to sing you to sleep with a mind full of hope.

The intro to ‘Candles’ sounds more like a simplistic opening of a film score rather than a closing track of a pop-rock record. Nevertheless as soon as Jones’s vocals kick in along with each instrument you can instantly tell it’s a creation of We Shot The Moon; the ever-uplifting chorus with backing harmonies, the perfect blend of styles and instruments and the intelligent lyrical styling that’s apparent throughout A Silver Lining. A rather different style song to the opener it seems the band want to leave the listener feeling they have been through a roller coaster of emotions and that the wheels are finally coming to a graceful stop.

Now, since artists like The Fray, One Republic and Jacks Mannequin stormed the charts it’s been difficult to tell one piano infused rock band from the next, however We Shot The Moon bring original ideas and interesting tweaks to the table with their latest offering A Silver Lining, showing that they are true contenders when it comes to proving their worth. Their 11-track, beautifully diverse album is certainly worth listening to and although at some points the tracks can enter that ”I’ve heard it before” territory it manages to pull itself out with the sudden changes in tempo, style and melody.

We shot the moon are certainly a band to watch.

For Fans Of: Jacks Mannequin, The Fray, Motion City Soundtrack
Overall Rating Out Of 10: 8/10
Top Tracks To Listen To:

Red Night

Miracle

The Brightside