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Georgia Feroce – Moon Signs (out October 29th, 2021)
In the search for purpose and meaning, many of us look to the stars for answers about our destiny, our romantic compatibility, or even our own identity. From late 2019 and throughout 2020, Los Angeles indie-pop singer/songwriter Georgia Feroce found herself gazing toward the heavens from the confines of her home while processing the complex nature of heartbreak, loss and emotional abuse, finding comfort in the wisdom of the cosmos. And thus, Feroce’s brilliant, emotional debut LP Moon Signs began to take shape.
Moon Signs is a twelve-track collection of resonant indie-rock songs that find Feroce parsing the often contradictory emotions that follow the demise of a romantic, if flawed, relationship. While pop structure and sensibility lie at the heart of Feroce’s sound, throughout Moon Signs she regularly experiments with orchestration and tone, creating a unique-yet-familiar sound that seamlessly combines ‘90s-inspired bedroom-pop tracks with sparse piano ballads, acoustic confessionals, and crunchy barroom rock & roll songs.
In lesser hands, Feroce’s juxtaposition of disparate influences could feel disjointed, but Feroce’s thoughtfulness as a songwriter and focus on crafting a cohesive album makes it work. Each of the twelve tracks on Moon Signs are written as an analog to a specific zodiac sign, with the qualities of each sign informing the style, tone and perspective of each song. Rather than focusing on the traits associated with the common sun signs, however, Feroce focuses on the characteristics of moon signs, a secondary aspect of one’s astrological profile that represents the emotional side and the subconscious self. “I knew I wanted to make an album where each individual song represents a sign,” says Feroce. “I wanted to focus on moon signs, though, because they deal with your inner self and your emotions, and that’s exactly what songs are, they come from your emotions, not necessarily what you present to the world.”
Feroce started working on the songs that would become Moon Signs in 2019 as a way of processing her feelings in the wake of a dysfunctional relationship, writing raw, confessional and at times scathing songs about the realities of heartbreak and emotional trauma. Though the bulk of Moon Signs was written by Feroce alone, when it came time to record, she linked up with Grammy Award winning producer Tone Def (OutKast, Green Day, Briston Maroney) to bring her vision to life. To round out the sessions, Feroce recruited guitarist Tim Galloway, her longtime bass guitarist Edward Baida, and drummer Will Brunet to play on the album. “I like having this sort of creative control because there’s no need to strictly stick to convention,” says Feroce. “For me, there’s no formula for writing. When something is not forced, and is authentic and real, that’s something special and that’s what I enjoy about writing. What I like about working with Ed and these guys is that I could come in like ‘Here is the melody, here are the chords’ and they’d just fill it in.”
Moon Signs opens with the breezy, jangly surf-pop of “G.O.M.D.,” an homage to J. Cole’s song of the same name, but with Feroce reclaiming the phallocentric shove-off for a new era of feminism. “There’s not an equivalent for women,” says Feroce. “I was feeling like this man I was with didn’t respect me because I was a woman, so the only thing that was going to get through to him was to talk to him like a man.”
The following pair of songs, “Maybe It’s Not You” and “Cocaine,” each are built on ‘90s alt-rock inspired guitars, and tackle different perspectives on love and heartbreak, with “Maybe It’s Not You” focusing on the fear and self-doubt that can arise after a powerful love turns sour, and “Cocaine” focusing on regret and the toxic pull of nostalgia after escaping an unhealthy relationship.
Elsewhere on Moon Signs, Feroce explores the complexities of gender dynamics in the modern world, such as on “Like Everybody,” a reminder to the privileged men of the world that even when things are bad, it’s worse for marginalized groups. On the other hand, “I Don’t Want To Be A Man Anymore” finds Feroce reconciling that it’s important to accept people for who they are and acknowledge that their struggles are also valid. “‘I Don’t Want To Be A Man Anymore’ and ‘Like Everybody’ are opposites,” says Feroce. “But what it really comes down to is just trying to empathize with people and understand that you will never truly understand.We all make mistakes and we all hurt each other sometimes, and I think the world would be nicer if sometimes we just remembered to have empathy for each other and be kind no matter what, and be kind to yourself because that’s what makes you kinder to other people.”
Although Moon Signs is Feroce’s first full-length record, she has been working up to this release for years, studying music in college and honing her craft as a songwriter while making a name for herself in LA’s local scene. In 2016, she released her debut EP, Cat & Mouse, and in 2019, released a collaborative single, “All My Friends,” with Matt Koelsch, produced by Rilo Kiley’s Pierre de Reeder.
Although her sound has changed over the years, evolving from the more traditional acoustic folk-pop of Cat & Mouse to the genre-fluid alt-pop of Moon Signs, Feroce has continued to make memorable, honest & moving music by writing for her biggest fan: herself. “There are so many talented people in this world, there’s so much good music,” says Feroce. “You can’t chase that, you just have to write for yourself. It sounds corny but it’s true, if you become successful from something you don’t love or believe in, it probably won’t last and you won’t be happy. I’m happy with what I’ve done, and I really hope that shines through when people are listening to this record.”