Moving Targets
Burning in Water

LA RECENSIONE

Who the heck were these blessed Moving Targets? Does the name ring any bells? Alright, I'll give you a hint: it's the title of the first album by the Penetration (1978), British punkers. I'm not certain, but I suppose it might derive from that.

Yes, but who the heck were they? Essentially, a power trio in the vein of Hüsker Dü and Minutemen (with main influences being specifically Zen Arcade by the former, dated 1984, though reworked in a far less raw manner and with greater care). And believe me, I call them a power trio for a reason! Listen to believe!

They lasted in their original lineup just long enough to produce this album, Burning in water. They were formed by singer and guitarist Kenny Chambers, bassist Pat Leonard, and drummer Pat Brady, who was their founding member in 1981 (and who worked professionally as a firefighter!). They hailed from the North Shore, Massachusetts, and were an important part of the Boston underground movement, although they did not achieve significant commercial success.

Before this album and its fourteen tracks, they recorded three songs ("Changing Your Mind", "Waiting For The End", and "Selfish", quite raw) for the 1984 compilation Bands That Could Be God, curated by Conflict Records and Radiobeat Records (here's the tracklist and full compilation: https://www.discogs.com/Various-Bands-That-Could-Be-God/release/2067530, https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=T1TqQdmgXtY&ab_channel=MahlerHaze), alongside that Lou Giordano who was already working with Bostonians Mission of Burma (another influence) for Signals, Calls and Marches in 1981.

Good old Giordano spotted the potential of the three, and two years later took control in the studio for this record (released by Boston's Taang!), in my opinion, a vital piece of post-punk even if the definition of punk is extremely limiting (we might also talk about post-hardcore, melodic hardcore, or generically of alternative rock). In the album, you can indeed see a love and deep knowledge of progressive (and for some tracks, you could talk about progressive punk, like MTV and This World, and if the term doesn't exist, I'm happy to coin it!), of classic hard rock (check out the amazing outro of Less than gravity, the seventies-esque shifts in Urban Dub and Coming Home, which seem like an update and acceleration of many things from the previous decade), and a tendency towards complex, articulated, and never predictable structures. All this is seasoned with a massive dose of unease that would set a standard in the decade to come (Shape of something, which also draws from the typical no wave eccentricity). All the musical influences that inspired our heroes are deeply digested, and their reworking leads to an original result. Brady's drumming is irresistible (and Barker, in my opinion, thanked him sincerely in his heart!), Chambers' guitar work is extremely omnivorous and allows for very wide harmonic excursions while the bass carves out its space nonchalantly.

In conclusion: a trio at the peak of their potential, before their premature split with only Chambers continuing with different musicians. A memorable legacy and proof that punk isn't just technical approximation. Don't let it pass you by!