40 Watt Moon

In his 1980 absurdist-romance novel, Still Life With Woodpecker, Tom Robbins says that the light of the full moon, seen through a window set high in a lonely bedroom, is almost equal to the brightness of the light of a 40-watt light bulb hung high from a lonely bedroom.

While the science behind Robbins’ claims probably doesn’t hold up, the image has stuck with me a long time, and I’ve long wondered if veteran Memphis rockers 40 Watt Moon are fans of Robbins as well. Whatever their reading tastes, though, last month, the group released their new full-length album, Ghost From the Stone. They will continue the promotion of the release with a concert at Lafayette’s Music Room this Wednesday, July 10th, at 8:30 p.m.

The album pays homage to ’70s and ’80s power pop (think The Posies) and ’90s Britpop. The guitars, played by vocalist/guitarist Kevin Pusey and lead guitarist Chip Googe, are crisp and bright, and Vince Hood beats on the drums as if he’d just heard them insulting his mother. Bassist Michael Duncan rounds out the band and keeps the low end grooving in sync with the drums.

The tracking was done at Young Avenue Sound with engineer Scott Harden and at American Recording with in-demand Memphis mixmasters Toby Vest and Pete Matthews.

The album opener, “Venus and Mars,” is an excellent example of what’s to come, all jangle and melodic vocals. The refrain is infinitely hum-able: “Venus and Mars and runaway cars on the skyway.”


On “Lazarus,” Pusey sings about an old friend returned from the brink of oblivion. The relief is palpable in the singer’s voice as he welcomes an old friend he never expected to see again. The song is made especially poignant by the ranks of Memphis musicians who have fallen prey to overindulgence of their more hedonistic appetites.


“Liz Phair,” a personal favorite, opens with blues licks in a crunchy, rock guitar tone. The song is a tribute to one of rock’s leading ladies, who last year celebrated the release of her landmark debut album Exile in Guyville with a vinyl reissue. The 40 Watt Moon song is replete with references to Phair’s oeuvre (including her sophomore release, Whip-Smart): “Whip-smart right from the start … Liz Phair, I don’t care if the whole world stares.”

The closing track, “Nine Muses,” is quieter and more contemplative, with arrangements that give the song room to breathe and marinate in the atmosphere it creates. Fittingly, the final lyrics on the album are, “She has trouble with goodbyes.” 40 Watt Moon will have CDs available at the upcoming show at Lafayette’s. So fans who are similarly afflicted with farewell-difficulties never have to say goodbye. - Contemporary Media, Inc.

Imagine you’re listening to the radio as you drive through the Bluff City, when a song jumps out of your speakers, all driving guitar riffs and pounding drums, a perfect power pop epiphany, and you think, “Where did this come from? Tom Petty is no longer with us. Matthew Sweet, maybe?” But then a voice, not as sardonic or cutting as Petty’s, nor as sweet as Sweet’s, sings, “Well lately, I’ve been tryin’ to change, but I never seem to get that far/And maybe you can burn it down like another little shooting star.” This is another band altogether: Memphis’ own 40 Watt Moon.

If it seems like hyperbole to compare the group to such greats, just have a listen to the title song from 40 Watt Moon’s latest, I Hope the World Lasts for You. They’ve perfected a blend of that now-endangered genre one might call Classic FM Pop — not quite classic rock, and certainly not hair metal, but a more upbeat, propulsive flavor of power pop that thrives on driving riffs, harmonies, and wry-yet-sentimental lyrics evoking relationships past and present.

The band wears its influences on its collective sleeve, with classic Memphis self-deprecation. “Kind of like Tom Petty, but not as good,” they quip on their Bandcamp page, but that’s unfair to what they’ve accomplished here. A lot of the emotional authenticity comes from singer/guitarist Kevin Pusey’s delivery — a more hapless everyman than Petty, to be sure, but no less trenchant or pithy in his observations of everyday life and the ways people escape it.

Super low, that’s where you’ll go
Hiding secrets everyone knows
Find a pen at the back of the bar
But, these love letters won’t get you too far
Out of time, on this rocket ship
Lately I’m so tired of all this
Nothing’s real or meant to last
And it’s catchin’ up with you so fast
— “One and Lonely”

He’s backed by a band that blends driving rock and sparkling textures with a disciplined feel for arrangements. These players — drummer Vince Hood, bassist Michael Duncan, and guitarist Chip Googe (senior account executive at the Memphis Flyer) — have an almost architectural approach to arrangements, always playing at the service of the song. That’s equally true for the feelgood opener, “Everytime I Fall” (reminiscent of the Face’s classic, “Ooh La La”), the pummeling “Over You,” the lilting “Madeline,” and everything in between.

It doesn’t hurt that the pounding rhythms and shimmering guitars are given a bit of extra panache via Toby Vest’s production at High/Low Studio. Nor does guest keyboardist Rick Steff, typically heard with Lucero, hurt the overall effect, bringing pitch-perfect piano flourishes or organ pads as needed.

DJs take note: the opening scenario is not just a daydream. You need to play this album on the radio. It was meant to be blasted over the airwaves, carrying news of love and heartbreak, with ringing guitars, across the Mid-South and beyond. - Memphis Flyer