“Pennied Days” Night Moves
Indie psych-rock band from Minneapolis that blends the synthesizer and guitar in appealing ways. Band’s sophomore album. A number of the songs have a throwback sound — so the tracks seem at once familiar. Night Moves members are John Pelant and Micky Alfano. The tunes are all relatively sunny, with some darkness in the lyrics. The first three songs are segued together — especially Tracks 1 and 2 — so you could play them all and get nice compliments on your mixing skills from your listeners. :-)
— Francis

Recommended: 1, 2, 3, 5, 4, 9. No FCCs.

1. (3:53) Carl Sagan – Swept along by a dreamy synth soundscape and woozy guitar. Vocals go from Pelant’s upper range to a full falsetto. Reminiscent of Hall & Oates. ****
2. (3:50) Denise, Don’t Wanna See You Cry – Pulsing and swirling synths under. Rambling, train-like rhythm set up by bass and drums. Nice harmonies in the chorus. ****
3. (4:25) Leave your Light On – Bigger, jangly guitars. Big sky rock flavor — homage to Neil Young, Kurt Vile and The War on Drugs. ***
4. (3:34) Border on Border – Opens with bright piano riff that could be taken directly from a Todd Rundgren song. Leisurely tempo. Synth strings. Repeated runs from a mournful electric guitar. **
5. (3:26) Kind Luck – Rock ballad. Strummed guitar. Synth under. Simple rhythm that gets bigger as the song goes on. A bit of Bob Seeger maybe? (The band was named after his “Night Moves.”) **
6. (7:27) Hiding in the Melody — Long, slow burn. Sprawling, synth-laden epic featuring piano, big choruses and some edgy guitar in the lead breaks and play-out.
7. (4:51) Staurolite Stroll – Up-tempo pop-rock with both strummy and jangly guitar. Lead vocals in the upper registers. A few spacey elements added at the end.
8. (3:37) Alabama – Mid-tempo power-pop ballad. Big piano. Soulful vocals floating up high into a falsetto at times.
9. (4:26) Only to Live in your Memories – Melancholy closer. Swirling synths. Electric piano and guitar in counterpoint. Like a slow song from MGMT — with lead vocals that sound a bit like early Fleetwood Mac. **