These are a couple bands that I found myself listening to more than many last year…
Lo Moon
I barely paid attention when Lo Moon played “This Is It” on Jimmy Kimmel early in 2018. I must admit that we all too frequently skip the bands on late night shows, especially when streaming them on Hulu during breakfast. Varya was listening, however, and remembered, suggesting this song a couple weeks later when I was looking for new romantic evening music (you can only hear so much Enigma). “This Is It” is catchy, no doubt, but the next song on Lo Moon’s self-titled debut item is what really hooked me, the atmospheric epic “Loveless.” Perhaps not the ideal song title to request of Siri or Alexa when snuggling up to your Love, so I usually just ask the digital ladies to “play the album Lo Moon.” Fortunately, the whole album is great, whether you’re chilling alone or warming up together. I’ve been hoping for a follow-up album, and they whetted my appetite with a new single in November, “For Me, It’s You,” a good sign of more to come. Lo Moon rising!
Greta Van Fleet
If you’re not paying attention, it is possible to hear this young Michigan band and not be sure you’re not listening to Led Zeppelin circa early 1970’s. Even a well-versed Zep fan might hear Greta Van Fleet’s “Safari Song” or “Highway Tune” from their first album and think he overlooked some obscure BBC radio session (ignoring audio quality). And yet the three Kiszka brothers plus drummer Wagner claim they aren’t intentionally channeling, or worse, aping the mighty Zeppelin. In fact, far from some tribute band with more original material, these guys come across as genuine, impassioned rockers, not just saluting the banner but waving it furiously high. While I challenge you to listen to “When the Curtain Falls” or “You’re the One” from their second album and not think of Plant, Page, Jones and Bonham thunder, you can’t discount it as mere derivative mimicry. When the band played on a recent SNL, lead singer Josh Kiszka’s early Plantian nouveau hippie wardrobe was overpowered by his wailing vocals and his brothers’ infectious exhuberance. More (flower) power to these torch-bearing kids from the North!
Moonday 