You can probably count on a single hand artists that were making waves in the early ‘90s and are not only still making insightful, relevant music in these late 2010s but also dynamically capturing the current Zeitgeist. Let’s all be grateful that electronic influenced, soul/funk infused pop/rocker Betty Moon is one of them.
Twenty seven amazing years after the Toronto native released her self-titled major label (A&M) debut, the four-time CASBY Award nominee (Canadian alt-indie music awards) is hipper and more sensual and edgy than ever, depending on which vibe of hers you’re spinning at the moment. She’s been featured at the Sunset Strip Festival, performed at The Roxy, Whisky a Go Go and The Viper Room and licensed tracks to “Californication,” “Dexter,” “Bounty Hunters” and the 2010 film “Walking The Dead.”
In 2017, Betty was hailed as one of the Top Five Trending Female Artists, with Celebrity Café Hollywood saying, “Her mesmerizing melodies and high energy hooks place her among modern greats like Tove Lo and Jess Glynn.” She’s been written up on Tattoo.com, HuffPo, That New Jam, BlogCritics, Exclaim, Earmilk and other sites, and – remarkable for an indie artist who made her initial mark over a decade before the birth of social media – has 1.3 million Facebook followers.
Her latest single, the all at once funky, sensual, slow burning and soaring self-empowerment anthem “Parachute,” seems perfectly suited for era of the #MeToo movement against sexual harassment and assault. Yet the movement first spread virally in October 2017, weeks after the release of Chrome, her eighth album featuring the track. There’s no way she could have known, right? Yet you sense her deep intuition when you listen to the track – especially when you experience it via the transcendent video (nearly 46,000 YouTube views and counting) which alternates her sexy stage performance with her kick ass band and liberating images of the Vegas skyline, solo studio dancing and actual skydiving.
Even without the #MeToo timing, “Parachute” is an inspirational indie rock track for the ages, a call for listeners to grab hold of the fearless freedom of Betty’s lyrics, rise above any of life’s challenges (gender related or not) and tackle each morning with renewed, refueled energy and self-assurance. In fact, the singer decided to release “Parachute” in March 2018, after Chrome’s earlier singles “Sound,” “Life is But A Dream” and “Natural Disaster” because it tied into Women’s History Month. The single, Betty says, was her way to pay homage to the “badass women of rock n’ roll throughout history and also focus on all the women who are up next to take over, inspire and create change.
Another notable aspect of “Parachute” is that, for those who don’t know its thematic content or socially conscious elements in advance, it starts out like a cool, sexy and adventurous love song. Betty draws us in singing soulfully about “smooth riding on a dark purple night. . .going uptown baby, where the world goes crazy.”
Then the uplifting, heart tugging hook blasts in: “I’m not afraid of falling/It’s the freedom I’m wanting/Packed a parachute and now it’s time to fly.” Metaphors abound and musical dreams take flight, empowered by the ever-enduring, ever-evolving light of indie music’s brightest Moon.