A deeper look at the grooves pressed into the Animal 12” EP by Suzi Moon. Important point: there are three songs on Suzi Moon’s Animal 12” EP. All three songs appear on both sides of said single so, where most vinyl releases are characterized by the movement from front to back, this single seeks to reprise its progression from one side to the next. That statement is not made as an indictment – it is made as an observation as well as an explanation for why this particular Vinyl Vlog reads differently from most. In fact, it could easily be said that this record plays more like a CD than its peers – which is thoroughly unusual.
…And now, with the above statement made, on with the review.
As soon as “Sonic Attraction” opens up the Animal EP, listeners will feel a weight lift off of their shoulders and stand a little taller – even if it’s just in defiance of gravity. There, the buzzsaw guitars and bad attitudes pioneered by acts like Joan Jett, The Lorrainas, The Headstones, Teenage Head and The Donnas all spring forth perfectly refreshed as lines like, “I got a sonic reaction/ To your cheap satisfaction,” and, “You’re lookin’ good and I want it/ I like the way that you flaunt it” inspire subconscious sneers to manifest on listeners’ faces. For three minutes, listeners have the opportunity to indulge every great, hard feeling, every sick fascination and every bad idea which comes into their heads with the perfect soundtrack to it all. That opening cut is just 100% fun and, even after the song ends, listeners will find that the door has been left open for more, to their delight.
While Animal‘s title track just sort of stomps along petulantly for ever so slightly less than four minutes and sticks faithfully to a mid-tempo time signature as some act of perverse opposition to an imagined norm (which, yes, actually works about as well as readers might guess), Suzi Moon finds her way back to what is the strongest part of “Sonic Attraction” (the tighter, lighter power in the performance) for the final cut on the single, “Gold Record Autograph”. The final cut really redeems to single’s play and ensures that listeners will have a good taste left in their mouths as Moon rolls the song in the sweetest kind of sugar and offers those listening the chance they’re hoping for with the words, “They want to sell you/ Hot rods & cheap perfume, yeah/ Every move you make, videotape Survival, denial/ Motels on a country highway/ A long, long way from the home you made/ Are you gonna be someone else?/ Yesterday you were on the shelf/ Go ahead kid, it’s your chance”. In print, it might be a little too difficult for any listener to believe but, in practice, Moon effortlessly wins every heart which may still have been holding out on her before the song crashes to a close. That vibe will have listeners still held enthralled as needle lifts from record and, when it does, listeners will then understand why all three songs have been pressed again on the B-side of the single: it’s so listener will have a chance to listen to the single more, and they’re less likely to wear the record out.
The catch, of course, is that even though listeners will have more opportunity to just play through the Animal 12” EP over and over – side upon side – and not wear the single out, they’ll still only have three songs to work with – and they’ll want more. All of those who get exposed to this EP will love the songs but, unfortunately, they won’t be satisfied. It’s for that reason Suzi Moon will simply have no choice but to come up with another album, EP, single, anything to assuage the hunger that this single will inspire. Here’s hoping that Suzi Moon has a plan to respond to the demand that this single creates – she’s going to need one. [Bill Adams]
Artist:
https://suzimoon.com/
https://www.facebook.com/SuziMoon/
https://www.instagram.com/thesuzimoon/
https://twitter.com/thesuzimoon
Album:
Suzi Moon’s Animal 12” EP is out now. Buy it here, directly from Pirates Press Records.
