Album review: MOONLIGHT DESIRES – Just The Hits 1981-1985

Infamous Butcher Records [Release date 15.09.17]

Moonlight Desires hail from Canada and have produced a set of very enjoyable covers, and not the usual suspects either as they have gone for 80′s synth led pop rockers.

The band’s name comes from a Lawrence Gowan song (Gowan is a successful solo artist in Canada and now a member of Styx) and a Gowan song, ‘A Criminal Mind’, opens the album. They make the song their own adding a faster pace and more guitar/rhythm section oomph. They also rock up fellow Canadian Corey Heart’s ‘Sunglasses At Night’, the heavy bass and guitar work a treat on here.

Trevor Ziebarth is the main driving force behind the band and they have produced plenty of interesting takes on 80′s tunes. Highlights are the pop punk treatment to Steve Winwood’s ‘Valerie’ and the cheesy Rod Stewart hit ‘Young Turks’. In fact of the eleven covers on here not one has you hitting the ‘skip’ button. Granted their slow, sludgy indie rock take on Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s ‘The Power Of Love’ does take a few plays to sink in, but their arrangement works.

Covers with a bit of thought put into them and a lot of fun to record I am sure, as they are great fun to listen to and crank up loud. Party on! ***1/2

Review by Jason Ritchie

Featured Artist: JOSH TAERK

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Power Plays w/c 11 November 2024

ARCANE MOON Hello Sun (indie)
S8NT ELEKTRIC XTC (Long Branch Records)
ARCANA KINGS Here We Go (Curtain Call Records)
KLOGR face The Unknown (Zeta Factory)
BEYOND UNBROKEN Dance With The Dead (FiXT)
REVENGIN Decadent Feeling (Wormholedeath)

Featured Albums w/c 11 November 2024

09:00-12:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Rock)
12:00-13:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Melodic Hard Rock)
14:00-16:00 The Best of 2003-2023 (Singer Songwriter)