ATP! Essential Listening: Walk The Moon

If Walk The Moon’s wonderfully infectious single, “Shut Up and Dance,” hasn’t invaded your brain yet, it’s definitely going to soon. The track is starting to pop up everywhere—from topping the alternative charts to the band being invited to perform it on Ellen. The hype is well deserved, as Walk the Moon have a fantastic, dance-y take on indie rock that deserves to be heard by the world.

After getting their name from a Police song, the band perfected their lineup and released their first album, I Want! I Want! independently in 2010. Single “Anna Sun” garnered some major attention, appearing in American Eagle Outfitters stores, named the song of the summer in 2012 by MTV and Seventeen, and hit the top spot on Sirius XM channel, Alt. Nation. With the success, the band then signed to RCA to release their first official album, Walk the Moon, made up of tracks from I Want! I Want! along with new songs.


After touring extensively, the band sat down to write and record Talking is Hard, pulling super long days in the studio to get the greatness they wanted to achieve. Singer/keyboardist Nicholas Petricco describes the album as “a bunch of really committed, confident shouts into the darkness” on the band’s website. “Shut Up and Dance” is undeniably the standout, an absolute anthem about living in the moment, while “Different Colors” talks about bringing people together and supporting each other. While the songs on Talking is Hard are about a bunch of different, sometimes very serious, subjects, each one is upbeat and catchy.

The band’s energy really carries through into their songs, each one making you want to jump up and sing along. Walk The Moon brings in various fun electronics into the songs, and the vocals are raw and strong. Their energy and sound is similar to Vinyl Theatre’s, but also a brand that’s entirely their own, influenced by Talking Heads and The Killers.


This summer, they’re touring in support of Talking is Hard on a tour that’s very close to being completely sold out. Walk the Moon are certainly on their way to getting arenas full of people on their feet.

Words by Lauren Jones