TVD Live: Django Django and Night Moves at Public Works, 3/22

By Jason Miller | Published: March 28, 2013

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Music can act as a time machine of sorts by transporting the listener back to a certain place almost instantaneously. Now, whether or not that’s a good thing depends on the memory. When it happens in a good way, it’s a wonderful thing, and that’s what happened to me the first time I heard Minneapolis trio Night Moves.

Night Moves are touring in support of their Domino Records debut Colored Emotions. It’s a trip down memory lane for those of us who grew up alongside AM radio in the ’70s. What MGMT tried to do by stripping the electronic beats and pop melodies from their debut album and failed with on Congratulations, Night Moves succeeds and makes it look easy.

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It’s a mix of ’70s soul, incredibly well-written songs, a touch of light jazz, and a lead singer who is caught somewhere between Daryl Hall and Bono. The ten songs that make up Colored Emotions clock in at just under 35 minutes, but it’s quality over quantity in this case.

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Standout tracks include—well, the entire record is a standout, so I will save you the track-by-track analysis. It’s hands-down the best record that I have heard this year, and after seeing the band pull off the sound effortlessly, I am considering traveling to another city to see them again.

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Oh, and did I mention that it’s available on vinyl? Yeah, this record was made to be celebrated on a turntable with an all-tube power amp. Even if you don’t have that luxury available to you, pick up the CD, turn down the treble, and get ready to be transported to a sound that has been lost for decades. The best band of 2013 has arrived, and they are called Night Moves.

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Night Moves opened for Django Django at Public Works last week, who are touring in support of their self-titled debut. These guys were fantastic live as well. It was sort of like Devo-meets-The-Beach-Boys-during-their-Pet-Sounds-phase. Check out their tracks “Default,” “Hail Bop,” and “Firewater,” and you will understand exactly what I mean.

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Were you at the show here in San Francisco? Do you agree Colored Emotions is an early contender for album of the year? Please join the conversation in the comment section below.

More photos of Night Moves

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