MOVING TARGETS

MOVING TARGETS seem to have been lurking just underneath the surface since I discovered The Greater Punk. I picked up Brave Noise at Shadowplay Records in Campus Corner in Norman around 1990, and discerning diggers will recognize most of the their catalog from forays through used bins over the years. But these records not to skipped, not to be passed over...MOVING TARGETS are to be celebrated. To be listened to repeatedly on long drives. Their songs should be a part of you just like their (used) records are a part of your record shopping experiences. Brave Noise and Fall (1989 and 1991, respectively) are the two most common scores, though it should come as no surprise that the first full platter, 1986's Burning In Water is still my go-to. Historically, file this alongside contemporaries like DINOSAUR JR., (early) SOUL ASYLUM, (mid-'80s) HÜSKER DÜ and so forth (all four of their LPs were on Taang!, so the punk/hardcore connection is inescapable even beyond their sound), but the discordant melody of those walls of guitars are worth a special mention because they put the band in their own category. "Shape Of Some Things" starts with a Plastic Surgery Disasters-caliber wail before settling into it's own, and the guitar seems to teeter effortlessly between post-hardcore DC/Dischord and the less aggressive sounds that dominated the college radio airwaves at the time. I can see MOVING TARGETS on a stage with (later) WIPERS or GUADALCANAL DIARY just as easily as FUGAZI, and there's an easy line to draw between this sound and modern bands like NEON PISS. Spend some time, get to know them....if you don't already.

BURNING IN WATER