FIRST LISTEN: “Shut Up” and Listen to Walk the Moon

This past Wednesday marked a glorious occasion for fans of dance-along, paint-your-face indie pop.  Giddy, metro rock outfit Walk the Moon – still selling out shows on the back of their massively successful second album – released a taste of what’s next in the form of the whimsical dance floor track “Shut Up and Dance.”

The Ohio foursome – comprised of members Nicholas Petricca, Kevin Ray, Sean Waugaman and Eli Maiman – have spent the summer supporting Panic! at the Disco on their Gospel Tour, but it appears that they were still able to squeeze in some quality recording time between sold out dates.  Their self-titled 2012 release, their first on major label RCA, set the bar pretty high, but the ever-effervescent group have never let personal boundaries get in their way.  Since their independently released debut album i want! i want! in 2010, they’ve been on a steady upward spiral.  “Anna Sun” pushed them into the Billboard spotlight a few years ago, but “Shut Up and Dance” could easily be the song that finally lands them a crossover pop hit.

The new track has the guys tapping into a retro 80’s vibe in the same vein as Jack Antonoff’s current flagship Bleachers, however Walk the Moon leaves him in the dust with a booming chorus and vicious guitar hooks.  It’s a punk invasion of the roller disco – one that will have you and your partner gyrating across the dance floor until your bodies give out.  “This woman is my destiny, she said shut up and dance with me,” hollers frontman Petricca over a wall of heavy guitars and hooky synths.  He may not have listened, but that’s all the better for us.

You can preorder Walk the Moon’s as-yet-untitled third LP on their website right now and join them later this fall for their appropriately-titled “Shut Up + Tour.”  Dates are as follows:

October 8th — Seattle, WA — The Crocodile
October 9th — Portland, OR — Monqui Presents
October 11th — Denver, CO — Larimer Lounge
October 13th — San Francisco, CA — Slim’s
October 15th — Los Angeles, CA — The Echo
October 16th — Highland, CA — San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino
October 17th — Minneapolis, MN — University of Minnesota
October 18th — Nashville, TN — Marathon Music Works
October 21st — Columbus, OH — The Basement
October 22nd — St. Louis, MO — The Ready Room
October 23rd — Kansas City, OH — Record Bar
October 25th — Dallas, TX — Trees
October 26th — Austin, TX — The parish
October 28th — Atlanta, GA — Terminal West @ King Pow Arts Center
October 29th — Charlotte, NC — Visulite Theatre
October 30th — Baltimore, MD — Ottobar
November 1st — Cambridge, MA — The Sinclair
November 2nd — New York, NY — Bowery Ballroom
November 4th — Washington, DC — U Street Music Hall
November 5th — Philadelphia, PA — Underground Arts

Did Walk the Moon’s new single make you shut up and dance? Let us know in the comments below.

Tags : 2014, alternative music, Bleachers, featured, first listen, indie pop, music, Music Reviews, New Music, Ohio, Panic! at the Disco, reviews, Shut Up and Dance, Walk the Moon