Today, Walk the Moon, an indie rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio, officially released their second studio album, Talking Is Hard.  The band released their single, “Shut Up and Dance”, off of this album in September and it has been played on the radio non-stop ever since.

I just finished listening to the album for the first time, and though the band entitled their album Talking is Hard, they clearly demonstrate that singing is not hard for them at all. If you could close your eyes on this cold December day and try to remember what the warm, summer air feels, looks, and smells like then that is essentially what Talking Is Hard sounds like.  Each song, with its swirly pop melodies and electronic beats, evokes the feeling of the warm sun on your skin, the taste of fruity popsicles melting in your mouth in the hot summer heat, and the smell of the ocean breeze wafting past you as you ride your bike on the boardwalk.  These sensations, when combined, is Walk the Moon. The music on their new album is fun, care-free, pleasant, and happy — all like what summer stands for.

Though Talking Is Hard doesn’t contain one bad song, some of the tracks, especially towards the middle of the album, do start to sound similar after awhile — most electronic/pop music does.  That being said, the album starts and finishes on a high note, which is all that matters (no album can be perfect, unless we are talking about The Beatles, which in their case everything is perfect).

Talking Is Hard begins with “Different Colors” which is one of the more distinctive songs off of this album.  Basically, if Vampire Weekend and Bleachers got together to have a musical offspring, it would sound like “Different Colors”.  Another song that caught my attention is “Up 2 U” which is unique because it’s really the only song off of Talking Is Hard that features noticeable guitar riffs — this aspect of “Up 2 U” highlights Walk the Moon’s clear ability to be a high-functioning rock band, so let’s all take a moment out of our day and pray that the band produces more music like “Up 2 U” in the very near future (for rock n’ roll’s sake, of course).

One last song that I want to mention happens to be the last song on the album.  “Aquaman” is like a blue, sparkly ribbon that beautifully ties Talking is Hard together.  It’s slower than the other songs on the album and features less of the electronic, contagious beats that Walk the Moon is known for.  Instead, “Aquaman” showcases the band’s ability to nail the indie/alternative/love ballad sound perfectly.

All in all, I would highly recommend that you take time out of your day to listen to Talking Is Hard from beginning to end because I guarantee you will be in an infinitely better mood after a little dose of Walk the Moon.

xx Danielle