Moving Targets

Reviews

Moving Targets Red Eyes LP

Boston vets MOVING TARGETS are back with Red Eyes, the third studio album since their 2018 comeback Wires. They still tag themselves “melodic punk,” but this release lands closer to the GOO GOO DOLLS than BAD RELIGION. It’s ten songs recorded by J Robbins, produced tight and clean, but definitely too clean for my taste—it sounds to me more like a band that would underscore some WB drama instead of inspiring kids to fuck the system. Maybe that’s the goal because we’re all grown-ups now, but I found 2023’s Live at Kling Klang, with all of the rough edges on full display, to be so much more compelling. If you’re a die-hard, or if your shelves already have space for SOUL ASYLUM next to your punk section, you might find something to like. For me, it’s more background noise than a burner.

Moving Targets In the Dust LP

Somewhere in Boston, a divorced dad is excitedly knocking back beers over the release of this LP and jamming to his favorite local band, MOVING TARGETS. However, this is not me. I may not be the intended audience for this release, perhaps aimed at those who enjoy “melodic hardcore,” as the band puts it. They have a very loose definition of what hardcore is, with this album being composed of casual, almost pop-sounding rock—unfortunately, this is synonymous with being “background noise” in my terms. The album is unprovocative and placating, yet it certainly isn’t bad. It’s almost so cohesive and generally pleasing that there’s nothing particularly notable or interesting. This LP is surely better heard live for the full head-banging effect that is missing in the recording. The drums and tambourine in “Sacrifice” are fun. The singing-like riffs of the guitar near the end of “Decadent Side” and “End of The Line” suggest that the band does know how to take things up a level. If you’re into that sort of feel-good sunshine punk, then by all means take a trip In the Dust.

Moving Targets Humbucker LP

“It’s not disappointing” may not sound like a ringing endorsement, but in an era where many aging, or aged, rockers are attempting to get the band back together without understanding that their musical sensibilities and energy have changed dramatically, Ken Chambers doesn’t seem to have changed at all. While 2019’s comeback record Wires sounded very much like Brave Noise, this one is a little more poppy, very much in the Fall/Take This Ride realm. In fact, it’s so similar that you might wonder what the point is, like why did AC/DC put out so many records? (Answer: because people kept buying them.) If none of this makes sense to you, MOVING TARGETS, along with folks like DOUGHBOYS, BIG DRILL CAR, and PEGBOY, were one of direct ancestors of the melodic pop punk that gained widespread fame in the mid-1990s. It’s melodic and catchy but still driving and probably closer to ’80s hardcore than it is to the BUZZCOCKS. Should you start your MOVING TARGETS journey here? Probably not. But if you can’t get enough, have at it.

Moving Targets Burning in Water LP

Boston has given us some great pop-punk like STRANGLEHOLD and the NOT, only to see them slip away largely unappreciated. OK, Boston’s giving us another chance in MOVING TARGETS, whose debut is quite a gift. Hope you try this one, and you’ll find there’s more to this city than metal.