What would a group of discarded NASA astronauts do? Stranded on the moon and with their identities hidden for national security, mooncrüe seem to have found solace in making danceable, groovy, and tight electronic pop with a spacey tinge that set them apart from us mere earth dwellers.
Hailing from Austin, Texas, mooncrüe is fronted by an artist whose name remains undisclosed. Their debut single, Animal, is exactly as described. A tight and punchy piece of dynamic, electronic pop, ripe with synthesizers and drum machines, and provocative lyrics with a soulful singing performance.
The lyrics basically deal with what sounded to me like societal pressures that cause us to feel restricted, stressed, and restrained. On Animal, the singer wonders what it would be like to be an animal, where they’re not constantly being told to stop dreaming. The lyrics have weight to them, making them equally cool and meaningful, and they are delivered via a fitting lyric video that looks incredible and sticks to the theme of the group quite well. The song itself sounds amazing, with tight production and busy percussion tracks that clear up when they need to in the choruses, which are endlessly groovy and danceable.
Animal is a delicious debut single from a group whose influences are varied, and the results are quite unique to them, and for a group of astronauts stranded on the moon, they seem to be incredibly resourceful too. Or maybe, after all, the moon is in Austin, Texas.