Introduction
Artist: S. A. Bach
Title / Release Page: Keep The Moon Weird
Release Date: 2015 May 8
Genre: Indie Pop / Rock
License: CC BY
Media: MP3 / OGG / FLAC
Pricing: $1.99 USD (or more)
Label: Self-Release / BandCamp
Rating: ★★★★★★★
S. A. Bach is probably better known in CC music circles for his band: Oh Yeah, The Future. But on Keep the Moon Weird he showcases the qualities that make writing stand out from other would be indie pop / rock musicians.
S. A. Bach: Keep The Moon Weird
There are lots of qualities to the lyrics of S. A. Bach that draw listeners to his work. For example, the opening track, “A Good Life” plays with the ironies of someone that is not having a good life, and is sarcastic about the promises that we see all the time: “…don’t you want a house/kid/wife?” he sings. It’s the promise of the standard of a “good life” that does not fit everyone.
On “Carnival Kelly” Bach parodies the image of people on welfare as the people that are being irresponsible: using credit to go to a Carnival, and just “keep on spending money” when they should be looking for a job, “And saying that I’m looking for what I’m absolutely not looking for…how dumb do I look?”
The title track sounds like a children’s song that went to a really strange place. A man and kangaroo get marooned on the moon, go to a movie where a martian waiter turns into a rootbeer, all capped off with an robot mechanic that won’t work on a car because it looks like his ex-wife. Which is basically an observation of how what could by typical situations in our daily life can turn into absolutely absurd, surreal situations.
The EP closes out with “Goferit”, a song about a friend encroaching on a relationship, and the desire to not be polite about it. It’s one of those situations where the main character of the song doesn’t want to be honorable or do the “right thing” but does it anyway. It’s about as gritty, and true-to-life as it gets in the balance of relationships.
Musically, all of these songs are really tight, from the Beatles-esque ballad style of “A Good Life”, the indie rock style of “Carnival Kelly”, and “Goferit” and the alt-country style of “Keep The Moon Weird”. The style / setting of each song actually makes each tune more memorable, delivering the hooks that each song needs to make it stick with you.
Conclusion
S. A. Bach: Keep The Moon Weird is a fun indie rock EP, featuring some of the most fun, diverse lyrical content that you won’t hear on the radio these datys. It’s the kind of release that may make you wish that this was the type of music that you heard more often. Fortunately we have artists like S. A. Bach to bring them to us.
