NYC-based synth-pop trio, Moon Kissed, are gearing up to release their sophomore album, I’d Like To Tell You Something Important, due out October 22 — which also happens to be the night of their sold-out album release party at Elsewhere in Brooklyn, NY. Today, the not-a-girl band trio shares their second offering from the forthcoming record and “Strange Satisfaction” is out now, along with an official music video.
“Strange Satisfaction” is a moody ode to the way that love can be radioactive in all of its consuming qualities. Moon Kissed pushes past cliché to get to a more specific truth that’s intrinsic to the experience of heartbreak. With drums that read melodically like a heartbeat, the song explores the masochistic pleasure — the strange satisfaction — of a heart throbbing with the pain of being broken into pieces.
Khaya Cohen from Moon Kissed shares her thoughts on “Strange Satisfaction”
“Strange Satisfaction is another ode to masochism; to a sexy, deep attraction that makes no sense and which you know will hurt you in the end. The verses are about the allure of attraction that is addictive despite the consequences, the chorus is the candy that you can’t leave, and the song builds to a sweet melancholy release much like the experience of being with someone who is “no good for you,” but yet you are strangely satisfied by the whole experience. The dark production mixed with the pop-cutesy vocals shows the confusion and multifaceted nature of a deeply human experience.”
The sultry and soft video mirrors a trio that is not Moon Kissed but who embodies the same energy of the band — proving that this truth is not just for them, but for everyone. Cohen says, “This video is about sweetness and messiness, beauty and nerves. Visually, it is polished and performed, but there are also moments of pure human interaction that are impossible to direct.” The video embraces the beauty of bodies, which is also something that is a signature for anyone who has ever been to a Moon Kissed show, where nudity is not something to be apologized for, but rather embraced and welcomed.
New tour dates have just been announced. On stage, the band transcends stale expectations associated with “live music” and brings, to every audience, something completely new and saturated with a pulsating otherness. Now that Moon Kissed and NYC are officially back in action, the band is back on stage.
Many ponder “What does it look like when a city returns to its senses?” and the band was photographed by The New York Times to answer this question. It looks like Moon Kissed singing topless in a circle of fans screaming their lyrics back to them. With a sold-out release show and a previously sold-out show on June 18th in Brooklyn, and a last-minute epic show this summer, the high-energy they’re known for is in full force.
The forthcoming album’s first single, “Bubblegum,” is out now along with a music video. Moon Kissed is not a “girl band.” They are a force that, when creatively combined, creates a vortex of safety that can be physically and emotionally experienced through the joy of pure freedom, where it’s ok to be weird — in fact, it’s encouraged.
Expression within the container of Moon Kissed culture looks like bravery, joy, body love, happy tears (and all kinds of tears/release) and full-body chills. This new album is an extension of that energy.
The new single follows the stand-alone release of “Clubbing In Your Bedroom” and a remix EP of the track. “Clubbing In Your Bedroom” is an ode to everything people lost during Covid when it came to connecting, dancing and just being with each other — a true shared struggle over the past year and a half.
The original song was written and produced by Khaya Cohen and Emily Sgouros after a late night of clubbing in Emily’s bedroom. It was mixed and mastered by Justin Van Der Volgen and the music video was edited by Leah Scarpati.
A common thread in the band’s current releases is joy as an act of resistance and Moon Kissed acts as a permission slip to feel free in your body and soul even within the confines of the world today. At their core, this band is a magnet for self-expression without hesitation.
That’s how they formed, after all. When Emily, Khaya, and Leah met at a Lower East Side New Years party in 2019, they knew they had to start a band. It was instant. The energy between them had that rare storybook (once-in-a-generation) vibrancy that warrants comparisons to trail-blazing acts like The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Killers, etc. Be sure to stay tuned for show announcements and new content from Moon Kissed.
More info about Moon Kissed
Moon Kissed is that once-in-a-blue-moon band that creates their own community as they rise in the musical ranks. They are much more than a band; with every show they play they are ushering in a new era of gritty and provocative New York City partying—one where anyone is free to be themselves, gender isn’t real, and the person you’re dancing next to is your best friend but also could be your next makeout partner.
With Emily Sgouros on synth, Leah Scarpati on drums, and Khaya Cohen on vocals, Moon Kissed creates an energy, an infectious aura, that, if you are lucky enough to enter it, feels like a secret and an escape, powerful and precious to behold.
Watch this space for updates in the Music Videos category on Running Wolf’s Rant.
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