Singer-songwriter David Pedroza originally hailed from Huntingdon Beach in California where he was a member of the SoCal rock and punk scene. Relocating to Malmo in Sweden he formed First Boy On The Moon in November 2019 and over the last couple of years has been slipping songs out on Bandcamp and Soundcloud, finally collecting them together here for the debut self-titled First Boy On The Moon album. The record is an excellent post-punk / indie-pop album with nine songs that insinuate their way into your head with their melodic tunes, hooky guitar lines (never flash, but always effective) and diverting lyrics.
Kicking off with the atmospheric 'Drown It Out' with its War On Drugs feel and Bowiesque vocals, the album moves onto the jaunty indie-pop 'Straight Up With You' with its impossibly catchy 'Straight Up This Time, Straight Up With You' choruses and propulsive guitar and drums. The next couple of tracks show off the band's debt to 80s U2 with 'The Truth' especially boasting Larry Mullen Jr type drums, The Edge's guitar tones and David's uncanny Bono-alike vocals - all three attributes also running through 'First Boy On The Moon', which also has a 'Heroesque' feel to it. 'All Right Already' and 'Grim Reaper' takes other early 80s influences for their DNA with touchstones such as The Cure ('All Right Already') and The Psychedelic Furs ('Grim Reaper') all present and correct. If its songs that could be 'hit singles' that you're after, then the final three tracks fit this bill admirably with 'If This Isn't Love' , with its insistent guitar figures and it's 'If This Isn't Love then what is?' choruses, the gentle stomp of 'What Alice Was Talking About' and 'Pretty Vicious', with its nod to Lou Reed, both in title and tune. All three tracks are fantastically engaging tunes and round off the record in fine style.
If 80s bands such as The Cure, U2 and The Psychedelic Furs (and newer bands such as The Killers and The War On Drugs) along with their 70s antecedents Bowie and Reed is your thing, then you'll find that 'First Boy On The Moon' is a thoroughly enjoyable album. And even if these artists aren't your faves, there is still much to take from this excellent album of tight musicianship, strong songwriting and irrepressible hooks. A first class album!
'First Boy On The Moon' is available on limited transparent blue vinyl available in select record stores. The individual songs are available on Bandcamp, Youtube and other streaming services.
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