In their new single, titled “Moves,” Locations delivers what just might be their strangest and most aesthetically revealing performance to see widespread release yet. Unashamedly steeped in the hybrid stylings of a bizarre post-Killers approach to melodicism, “Moves” almost feels like a song that never quite takes off in the way it initially sounds like it would, yet its sense of anti-catharsis is somehow a badge of honor it wears with pride. I doubt I’d be the first person to call this band, which has been growing in popularity since their initial arrival, a little out there, but from how it would appear in this single and its video, I think that’s what they would appreciate.
The music video for this song is a little overindulgent for my taste, at least from a visual perspective, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t see the creative value in what Locations were trying to accomplish in getting as far to the left of mainstream pop modeling as they could. There’s a juxtaposition between the intentional oddness of the imagery and the simple pop hook beneath all of the cosmetics in this track that suggests duality and self-assuredness where I don’t believe other artists would have any, and to me, that’s something in itself.
I will say that I find Locations’ vocal harmonies to feel unforced in a couple of this single’s most climactic moments, and rather than hearing their impression of what they think an alternative pop/rock act is supposed to sound like, they allow for us to experience what their natural chemistry can produce in a piece like this one. You don’t have to be a professional critic to pick up on the hesitation in the lead vocal here, and if our singer can break away from that in future work I believe this band is going to see even more moments of intriguing evolution than what a lot of their peers are going to experience.
Locations might not be trying to be everyone’s cup of tea with this sound, and while the music video for “Moves” debatably places them even deeper inside the alternative bin, I think it’s in the fringe element of rock that we’re going to find this crew developing into the best sort of rock outfit they can be. This is a restrained look without question, and with more room to breathe, I think the framework of “Moves” will yield some really big moments for Locations’ career in the future.
