I’ve spent the last few months fervently searching for a new act whose music I could consume as intensely as I did with bands like Nirvana and The Shins during my most formative years. I feared that perhaps working in the music biz left me so jaded that I’d never find another artist who would impact me as deeply.

Thankfully, I was wrong. My pursuit ended when I discovered Half Moon Run’s newest album, Sun Leads Me On. The Glassnote group teamed up with producer Jim Abiss (Adele, Arctic Monkeys) to create a reflective album chronicling their quest for truth, something people from of all walks of life can relate to. Unlike most contemporary bands, the Canadian band live-tracked their album and enforced an important rule: they wouldn't include anything on the record that couldn't be reasonably reproduced for the live show. Abiss' ability to take note of a magic take perfectly captured their chemistry, breathing life into each song.

I was lucky enough to catch them live at The Troubadour, where I entered full fan-girl mode. I shamelessly sang along loudly to my favorite songs, "Trust" and "Devil May Care." The latter earned me some fun glances for jumping along to a mid-tempo, folky duet. Yes, I was that excited.

The sold-out room went wild for "I Can't Figure Out What's Going On," in which they substituted a gorgeous guitar riff for what was originally a string section. Peep the video below to check out the original.

Now that I've reignited my passion for new music, you can catch my rants about my budding obsessions each week here on The B-Side. Shoot me a message with your current favorite artist/track at [email protected], and if your taste isn't totally terrible, I might just share some love.

L'chaim,
Naomi Robin