New To You : Moovalya
- Written by Dave Beech
For me, punk was never really about the politics or looking the part, there was certainly no studded leather jackets, bondage pants, or mohicans. It was far more about having fun, being honest and drinking far too much warm beer for our age. As such, Sham 69 never spoke to me the same way Screeching Weasel did, and I far preferred listening to NOFX over Never Mind the Bollocks. And it's for that reason that I found Phoenix, AZ's Moovalya so endearing. It's not music that wants to smash the state, it's music that wants to get smashed and skate.
Whilst it wouldn't be far to call the band derivative, they definitely wear their influences like a badge of honour. There's definite elements of bands such as Suicidal Tenencies, later Casualties and plenty of the aforementioned NOFX.That said, skate punk has been a long overlooked genre, and it's refreshing to hear it done so faithfully, though arlier releases might have felt a little empty sounding, especially if you make your way backwards from the band's most recent release Sixer.
Tracks like 'Overdrive' (from 2010s First Degree) suffer from muddy production, though to their credit also come off sounding like The Movielife. Thankfully, the promise and potential manifested beneath the production is something that has, given the four years between that and their most recent release, deservedly reached the surface by now and by comparison, 'Straight in to You', the opening to Sixer, is a far snottier affair in which the production has been cleaned up to such an extent that the breakneck fretwork is far more discernible, allowing their skills to really be brought to the fore.
The difference between the band's earlier and later recordings here really is the difference between Moovalya being a band who can go places, and another punk band destined to spend their lives opening shows in their hometown. It's as if, with their later releases, they've gone back to the roots of the genre; there's far more abrasion at play than with later iterations of the genre, it's a matter of broken bones instead of broken hearts, and it's for that reason, that Moovalya seem like they're a band who could easily kick start the scene again.