Music from the Dutch delta? Yes, please. Especially if it is all going to be as cool as this one from Joseph Turner & The Dudes of Hazard. Blending folky finesse with an accessible indie-pop vibe, “A New Moon” is a deftly put-together song, employing only what is needed to make it work so well, and thus allowing plenty of space for the light to get in. Songs need to breathe; it is what gives them their energy.
This is the sound of roots music hitting its most confidently commercial stride. Acoustic guitars deliver a cool half-riff/half-lick, one that at once seems hardly there and yet is infectious as hell; the bass and the beat drive things on, powerful enough yet unfussy. Electric guitars add colour, and the vocals dance delicately on top. Everything is on top of its game, but never anything but a team player.
And this slightly understated yet nothing-less-than-elegant song carries an optimistic message. The new moon of the title is metaphorical, representing those moments when we find ourselves in the dark but understand that, with patience, the cycle will inevitably turn, and we will once more find ourselves under the rays of a bright full moon.
It’s that “you can’t have rainbows without the rain” sentiment elevated to cosmic, or at least lunar, proportions: a timely message, a great song.
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