Moon Bandits - Straight Thinking Means Plain Speaking

Moon Bandits Live

Folk-punk is awesome. It's a style of music that seems to be built upon sincerity, activism, and the questioning of all aspects in society. Its roots can be seen from artists like Billy Bragg, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie, but it has continues to grow and stay relevant through artists like Ramshackle Glory, Andrew Jackson Jihad, Ghost Mice, Rosa and Moon Bandits.

Moon Bandits are a two-part DIY folk-punk band out of Los Angeles. Tommy plays banjo and Astrid plays the violin and they both sing. Their beliefs, lyrics, and ethos stems from the idea that a person should aim to make him or herself better and more conscientious of the people and world around them each day. For this reason, they are straightedge vegans that enjoy traipsing through the woods, climbing mountains, and making awesome (vegan) food. You can check them out on Facebook HERE

They currently have two records, a demo and an EP, which can be listened to and downloaded for free at their BANDCAMP.

Their new EP "Straight Thinking Means Plain Speaking" is a romp in the socio-political aspect of being a human. What should a person do in order to be the best that he or she can? What makes a responsible human being? The EP comes across as honest, down-to-earth and hopeful in spite of the fact that a person's life sometimes "makes [him or her] feel like a victim," according to their song "Pedestrian." 

Lyricism plays an important part of the EP. The music drives the narrative, but the lyrics demonstrate two people who are willing to take a microscope to themselves in order to see the good, the bad, and the improvements that should be made.

In an age where music on the radio becomes something not unlike cookie-cutter chord progressions and nonsensical words spewing the merits of partying and a person's primal instincts, a record like this seems not only welcome but necessary to remind us why we listened to music in the first place, which is both for enjoyment as well as an understanding of a bard who creates stories through auditory pleasance.

Check it out.

Jordan