After the release of her debut album Kicker (2015) last year, LA-based Arizona singer-songwriter Zella Day has collaborated with producer Dan Nigro to release her latest single "Man on the Moon".
The song's lyrical content is straightforward yet evocative, describing how the spark of a new romance takes Day to dreamy, celestial heights:
'I had a dream that the sun in the skyWas feeling so lonely, he started to cryThe rain on our windows kept us insideAll of the morning, and into the nightAlone in my dream room, I want to love youAlone in my dream room, my body above you
I'm just a man on the moonI'm not coming down anytime soonI'm just a man on the moonFeet off the ground, I'm floating in youNobody saw us for seven daysUnder the covers, your body a mazeI couldn't believe that, deep down insideTwo bodies glowing could light up the skyAlone in my dream room, I want to love youAlone in my dream room, my body above you'
Lyrics: Genius
As AllMusic's Matt Collar noted, Kicker producers Wally Gagel and Xandy Barry (aka Wax LTD.) often opted for a maximalist approach, framing "Day's voice within gigantic, Florence Welch-style kickdrum and snare beats, Teutonic synths, and flagrantly cinematic orchestral backdrops". With "Man on the Moon", Nigro's production choices aim towards a more multi-layered and breezy atmosphere, as opposed to a stadium-rousing anthem.
Idolator's Mark Wass has described Day's emerging aesthetic as "widescreen, sun-dappled desert-pop"; an apt descriptor of the track's excellent juxtaposition of rich textures, light harmonies, the introduction of a children's choir during the breakdown ('I'm in your dreams now/ I'm in your dreams, in your dreams, in your dreams') and metaphor-loaded lyricism. The final product is a upbeat and whimsical R&B and folk inspired ballad, propelled to lunar heights by Day's exquisite gossamery vocals.
