MegaDestroyer Gets Restless on “Beneath the Lights”
Colin Moore gave the first version of “Beneath the Lights” a C+. His own song. That’s a useful detail in a business where every new single apparently has to be someone’s finest hour.
The MegaDestroyer guitarist and vocalist believed in the writing. The recording hadn’t caught up. Then producer Adam James heard the Omaha band’s earlier single “Parachutes” on Spotify and reached out. Their collaboration took “Beneath the Lights” into electronic pop territory, with Ted Jensen mastering the finished track at Sterling Sound Nashville. It’s out now.
“We’re going to need a fourth member of the band,” Moore jokes, putting out a call for someone on turntables and keys.
That’s a decent indication of how far things have traveled. MegaDestroyer started with a rock-trio arrangement and ended up discussing another musician to bring the expanded sound onstage. Moore’s original vocals and guitar parts remained in the recording; the possibilities around them changed.
Since forming in 2024, Moore, bassist and vocalist Ric Orta, and drummer Marlon “Marlo” Lowe have kept their options open. “STEAM,” released in March, drew on science, curiosity, and personal reinvention. “Parachutes” followed with a more melodic take on friendship and survival, accompanied by a video in May.
“Beneath the Lights” tackles a less glamorous side of chasing a creative life. One lyric gets straight to it: “How’d we go from kids just playin’ to barely getting paid and making ends meet.” No elaborate explanation needed there. Plenty of musicians could put that on their tax returns.
Moore knows the feeling he’s after, and he was willing to pull apart an adequate recording to get closer to it.
MegaDestroyer’s most persuasive quality is its refusal to settle for its own first answer.
“Working directly with Adam James producing this track really raised the standard of our expectations for our music, both sonically and in quality of writing,” he says.
A video is already filmed, and the search for an additional live member is on the table. First, though, there’s a new single, and a considerably happier assessment from its writer.
“I think we leveled up.”
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