Quantcast

Call for Papers: PopMatters Celebrates The Jam in Massive Special Section

Music
cover art

Landing on the Moon

We Make History Now

(Young Love; US: 10 Aug 2010; UK: 10 Aug 2010)

Landing on the Moon hail from Omaha, Nebraska. Their music is as earthy and grounded as that nondescript Midwestern locale suggests. On their debut album, the quintet offer up under-produced, over-earnest indie-rock that won’t offend you but likely won’t perk your ears, either. When they settle down, they’re at their strongest. “October” rolls by as gently and prettily as a harvest moon, while “Where Have We Gone?” dials up some bona fide pathos. But the pair of singers do the band few favors. Megan L. Morgan comes across as a less-witty, less sexy Jenny Lewis, and John Klemmensen’s thick, amateurish blather suggests someone trying to emote in front of their bedroom mirror. These guys list Sunny Day Real Estate as an influence, but too often the effect is more Barenaked Ladies, minus the wit and the tunes.

Rating:

John Bergstrom has been writing various reviews and features for PopMatters since 2004. He has been a music fanatic at least since he and a couple friends put together The Rock Group Dictionary in third grade (although he now admits that giving Pat Benatar the title of "first good female rocker" was probably a mistake). He has done freelance writing for Trouser Pressonline, Milwaukee's Shepherd Express, and the late Milk magazine and website. He currently resides in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife and two kids, both of whom are very good dancers.


Comments
Now on PopMatters
The Walkmen: Heaven (Reviews) [Tue, 2:00 am]
King Tuff: King Tuff (Reviews) [Tue, 2:00 am]
Lake Street Dive: Fun Machine EP (Capsule Reviews) [Tue, 2:00 am]
Theresa Andersson: Street Parade (Reviews) [Tue, 2:00 am]
AlunaGeorge: You Know You Like It EP (Capsule Reviews) [Tue, 2:00 am]
Mean Jeans: Mean Jeans on Mars (Reviews) [Tue, 2:00 am]
Yarn: Almost Home (Capsule Reviews) [Tue, 2:00 am]
Lee Bannon: Fantastic Plastic (Reviews) [Tue, 2:00 am]
Devil May Cry: HD Collection (Reviews) [Tue, 1:00 am]
'Battleship': What Did You Expect? (Short Ends and Leader) [Mon, 2:00 pm]
East Meets Least: 'Thirteen Women' (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 4:00 pm]
'Man to Man' is an Early Talkie that's Not Stagey at All (Short Ends and Leader) [Fri, 4:00 pm]
  1. The Top 10 Overplayed Songs You Hate by Artists You Love (Sound Affects)
  2. Tea with 'Sherlock': Investigating the Investigators (Features)
  3. Sunk? This 'Battleship' Stunk! (Short Ends and Leader)
  4. Tenacious D: Rize of the Fenix (Reviews)
  5. Top Ten Lost Midwest Punk Singles (Sound Affects)
  6. 10 Pieces of Cinematic Art That Require Revisiting (Short Ends and Leader)
  7. Like 'Doom', In Heels (Moving Pixels)
  8. Punk Rock's Pet Sounds: An Interview with Bomb the Music Industry! (Features)
  9. She's a Rainbow: A Tribute to Donna Summer (Features)
  10. Counterbalance No. 82: U2's 'Achtung Baby' (Sound Affects)
  11. 'Albatross': A Not-So-Weighty Coming-of-Age Meets Mid-Life-Crisis Film (Reviews)
  12. Counterbalance No. 83: The Stooges' 'Fun House' (Sound Affects)
  13. We Will Avenge Them Or… Be Avenged?: The Individual in the US Experience (Features)
  14. Go Goth!: Ranking the Burton/Depp Collaborations (Short Ends and Leader)
  15. The Queen and Her Crayons: An Interview With Donna Summer (Features)
  16. The Best Canadian Records of the Year? The Fun Agony of Voting for the Polaris Prize Long List (Sound Affects)
  17. Flash Points: Mommy's Breast, Marriage Equality and Why Chipotle Is King (Features)
  18. Something’s Wrong with the Black Widow! (Graphic Novelties)
  19. Sergio Leone: Something to Do with Death (Columns)
  20. Killer Mike: R.A.P. Music (Reviews)
  21. Sherlock Holmes, Dirk Gently and the Case of the Eccentric Detective (Columns)
  22. Early Summer 2012 New Music Playlist (Mixed Media)
  23. In Support of Supports (Moving Pixels)
  24. In Defense Of... Rock Radio: A Force in Popular Culture (Columns)
  25. Flash Points: Chicks, Sluts and Facebook (Features)
  26. The Cult: Choice of Weapon (Reviews)
  27. Garbage: Not Your Kind of People (Reviews)
  28. Willie Nelson: Heroes (Reviews)
  29. 'People's Pornography': The Mundanities of Pornography and Surveillance Culture (Reviews)
  30. Like a Jack London Story on Steroids: 'The Grey' (Reviews)
PM Picks
Music Archive
Announcements

© 1999-2012 PopMatters.com. All rights reserved.
PopMatters.com™ and PopMatters™ are trademarks
of PopMatters Media, Inc.

PopMatters is wholly independently owned and operated.
PopMatters is a member of BUZZMEDIA Music, MOG and Guardian Select.