The Moon Kids “Scotland’s Next Big Thing!” ‘Ride With The Hurricanes’ EP Out Now
Thrilling, unapologetic, and dubbed “Scotland’s next big thing!’’ by the Sunday Mail newspaper, Scottish rock band The Moon Kids recently released their highly anticipated second EP, The Moon Kids, March 5 via HWY 101 Entertainment.
The Moon Kids–lead singer David Barr, guitarist Connor Whyte, bassist Craig Reid and drummer Michael Adamson–recorded RIDE WITH THE HURRICANES in the Scottish Borders with producer SAW (Amanda Palmer, Honeyblood, PAWS) at his recording studio nestled inside of an old chapel.
In advance of the EP release, the band released three songs and videos: “Enemy,” “Touch of Venice,” and the latest video, “Cold Storm Cinema.”
Since The Moon Kids’ debut 2014 self-titled EP, their gripping style remains present yet matured, with a more refined worldview. “It’s a really optimistic record overall, but there’s also a lot of anger and angst in there too. It’s a perfect expression of our lives, who we are, where we’re from and what we’re about,” said the band in a joint statement.
While each song varies in tone, they all are originals and circle back to one universal theme. “ The Moon Kids is like the saying, ‘Ride out the storm,’” explains singer David Barr. “It’s about remaining positive during unsettling times. Not only ‘weathering the storm,’ but embracing your circumstances, being hopeful, and finding the opportunities that can present themselves during difficult situations. It’s about rolling with the punches and not letting events out of your control consume you, because when the storm clears there’s always a story to tell.”
“Writing and recording music was our escapism from all the negativity,” declares bassist Craig Reid. “Rather than complaining or feeling demotivated by not being able to perform live due to the restrictions, we just carried on making music,” says guitarist Connor Whyte. While drummer Michael Adamson concludes, “Making the EP really helped us through lockdown. We threw everything we had into it and I think it shows on the record.”
The title of the EP derives from a line in the band’s last single, “Touch of Venice.” They decided to use the title after Barr’s hurricane experience in Mexico last October.
A global pandemic couldn’t stop the will of Barr to follow his dreams of traveling to California to work on the new EP. Due to border restrictions on U.K. citizens at the time, the only way into America was to spend 14 days in Mexico. The second line of the song is, “We used to ride with the hurricanes.” Little did Barr know when he wrote this pre-quarantine that he would manifest this line into a reality.
Earlier that month while he was in Mexico, he was directly in the eye of the storm as Hurricane Delta barreled straight for his hotel. He was forced to spend 48 hours in a hurricane shelter sleeping on pool deck chairs with 1200 other stranded travelers. With no working phone and no luggage, he left the hotel with the clothes on his back, a pillow and of course, a mask. Once through the hurricane, and the mandatory 14 days in Mexico, David arrived in California ready to further the dreams of his band who continued to rehearse the new music back in Edinburgh, Scotland.
When their debut EP came out, The Moon Kids got the thumbs up from London Grammar, Run DMC and Tom Waits when their song “Luna Park” reached the final of the International Songwriting Competition in Nashville. Frequently played on BBC Radio in the U.K., stateside, THE MOON KIDS have grabbed the attention of Rodney Bingenheimer who regularly plays the group’s music on his SiriusXM Satellite Radio show, and they opened for legendary Blondie drummer Clem Burke in Glasgow in 2017. In 2019, the band caught the eye of renowned talent agent John Ferriter who was mentoring the band before his sudden death later that year.
