REVIEW: Moon Fever — Cocaine (SINGLE)
Moon Fever’s new single “Cocaine” is a powerhouse rock track ending a year we’re all desperate for distraction from. There’s no grousing about COVID-19 or politics, no reflecting on the state of human affairs, just an unabashed paean to the chemical glow cocaine sometimes provides. Moon Fever stomp the gas through the floorboard for much of this recording, but it doesn’t mean “Cocaine” lacks any nuance. There’s hints of how much more the band’s musical talents can accomplish if the song demands it and the lyrics are far more intelligent than typical hard rock fare, but Moon Fever are interested, first and foremost, in turning out five star kickass rock music. “Cocaine” succeeds on that score.
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It is a vocal success as well. Lead singer Cody Jasper exudes a tremendous amount of presence during the recording alone. The power of his voice is evident early on and punctuates the song with his raw and assertive yowl. Top notch front men like this are a dying breed. Jasper is unrepentant and the way he delivers the words makes it clear he wants your attention and won’t give it up once he has it. Communicating such a strong personality through a rock vocal is a gift and Jasper comes off as someone poised to make the most of his talents.
You see that personality coming across during the track’s music video. The song is brief, Moon Fever aren’t a band known to dawdle, and the video is almost half as long as the musical performance. The Hollywood five-piece structures the clip around the narrative of the band playing a small bar in the middle of nowhere for a small audience. Beautiful women inexplicably arrive to appreciate their rock swagger. Older viewers will smile watching the video; it’s reminiscent of similar videos from late 1980’s MTV hard rock clips. Younger viewers will appreciate it for the same reasons older ones did as youths and it fulfills its mission — giving Moon Fever an effective tool for further promoting their new single.
The writing speaks the language of its world. Moon Fever write about a cocaine fueled lifestyle in a believable way that takes note of its highs and lows alike, and it’s more than a little fatalistic. The go-for-broke feeling pervading the track will invigorate countless listeners. You can claim a lot of things about Moon Fever, but one thing you can never say is they don’t understand rock ’n’ roll. They feel it in the marrow of their being and know how to put it over for fans..
They are gaining momentum with each additional release. Moon Fever has energy to burn and the reckless abandon they exude has that right mix of celebration and danger fueling every minute of the track. It’s a song that sounds like the band entered the studio with, essentially, a finished product and recorded the track without much difficulty. “Cocaine” makes no apologies and gives you a shot of Moon Fever straight, no chaser. You’ll keep coming back for more.
Colin Jordan
