Dancing On The Moon
Self-Released, 2022
8/10
The legendary front man for Semisonic, Dan Wilson has enjoyed an excellent solo career, too, and these 6 tracks find the Minnesota native exploring a more pop-centric and experimental sonic appeal than his previous work.
“Island” starts the listen with Wilson’s soft and dreamy voice amid playful acoustic guitar that emits a soothing folk-pop presence, and “On The Floor” follows with well timed backing vocals that’s certainly indebted to modern pop ideas thanks to its playful percussive moments.
In the middle, “Dancing On The Moon” and “Red Light”, both co-written with Jenny Owen Youngs and Ethan Gruska, are quite intimate, where they bring a dreamy, nearly spacey demeanor that’s poetic and pretty.
Close to the end, “Can’t Think Straight” welcomes plenty of voices and a playful beat to the soulful EP highlight that you could certainly dance to, and “Under The Circumstances” exits calmly textured and buzzing in a cozy way that touches on electro-pop with a cautious energy.
If you haven’t familiarized yourself with Wilson’s work since his days penning bar closing anthems, his music now is much more subdued, highly meticulous and always unpredictable, as he continues his presence as one of the best songwriters of this generation.
Travels well with: Matthew Sweet- Catspaw; Josh Rouse- Going Places