From dodgy global politics to poignant memes, these are tough times. It’s best not to go too far into that, suffice to say, the struggle is real. And it may have been with that thought in mind that Cody Munro Moore penned his latest single, No Matter How Hard.
An infectious shot of encouragement couched in energetic beats, swaggering basslines and uplifting melodies, the track follows the sentiment behind its title.
A jam for the hard-fought optimists of the world, No Matter How Hard from Cody Munro Moore will send you out the right side of bed in the morning.
The release marks Moore’s return to his solo project after some time away – but it appears to have been time well spent.
The last couple of years have seen Moore putting his energy into outfits Big White and New Lovers, while also managing Sydney based label Dinosaur City Records.
However it was over this time that Moore’s plans to return as a solo artist sprouted, and new material eventually took shape. We caught up with him to talk about how it feels to finally revisit Cody Munro Moore.
“As with most things it’s been a long process, all those feelings that germinate before the idea is known to yourself have to take place. It took me years to get this up and going, so it feels good to be able to say that, from this point on, the songs are at the forefront and I’m not just thinking about them anymore.”
No Matter How Hard, which was released at the end of last month, really is an infectious yet muted anthem to those who just keep on keeping on. Upon a grounding of programmed beats and fat bass, a choir of shimmering synths and electric guitars cascade in, out, and around Moore’s motivational vocals.
The track feels both contemporary and enjoyably familiar, the instrumentation and vocal delivery hinting towards the cream of the 80s. However Moore prefers not to align his work with nostalgia or reinvention across such a broad comparison, and for good reason.
“I can’t deny that a lot of artists I admire were working in the 80s and correlations can be made, but for me I was born in 1991, I don’t care much for eras, only because I find it hard to say there was an ’80s sound’.”
“It’s like asking, can you find a linkage in time and sound between Jagger’s Just Another Night and The Clash’s Rock The Casbah? Sure, the truth is you probably can, but to do that you need to speak of producers, snare sounds, technologies… otherwise it’s a generalisation for no productive purpose. I suppose I don’t want to give too much to the 80s or any era because I wrote these songs in 2017.”
This single is the first release from an upcoming September album titled CMM. According to Moore we can expect just a cheeky nine tracks, however considering that everything was recorded in just one day, straight to tape at a location in Sydney’s Rozelle… colour us extremely interested.
Moore also hinted at some more excellent new material to come; “There’s a song on it with Body Type joining in the chorus. There’s another about swimming out too far on a Cyprian beach, and another about gold watches”.
Moore plans to put out another track this month, ahead of the album release later this year. The album will undoubtedly arrive via Dinosaur City Records, the label that Moore is currently manager of. Many artists still prefer to steer clear of the business side of music, and as a final question, we wondered whether that experience has changed how Moore views his creative musical output.
“At first I disliked it, then came around or rather just got used to the fact that some days you’re going to be sitting in a room with someone you barely know, talking about the legitimacy of Facebook ads, and suddenly the ghost of Ian MacKaye looms up and scares the hell out of you.”
“It’s times like that, that make you laugh, it can be sobering, you just have to know your doing it for the right reasons.”
