While Moon Boots’ previous discography consists of reliably strong singles, his debut album, First Landing, represents more of a giant leap than small steps. Throughout his entire career, Brooklyn’s Pete Dougherty, or Moon Boots, has consistently churned out groovy music that blurs the line between disco and electronic, and First Landing is no exception. The opening one–two punch of the song "Fortune Teller," followed by "Keep the Faith," could not be a better leading act for the album. While the former begins the album with a dreamy and flirty R&B–esque track headlined by the featured King Kona, the latter follows it up with a return to Moon Boots’ traditional form—a hypnotic, funky background (Nic Hanson’s ooh ah, ooh ah) that grabs your attention and demands—not asks—you to dance.
The impulse to dance to Moon Boots’ soulful combination of disco and electronic, however, is not a one–off in "Keep the Faith," but a theme throughout the album. Both "Never Get To You" and "I Want Your Attention" were clearly not made to be listened to quietly in a Starbucks, but by the beach or at a club. This isn’t to say the album doesn’t have its share of relaxing music—"The Life Aquatic," for instance, provides a calming disco track with a unique use of steel drum–like sounds that could be equally as comfortable in the background of a study session as they could be by the pool—but First Landing is first and foremost an album to make you move.
"I Want Your Attention," a standout track featuring Fiora, showcases Moon Boots’ abilities to balance vocals and instrumentals. Fiora's repeated “I want your attention” line weaves its way in and out of the beat seamlessly, and Moon Boots skillfully constructs his sparkling disco as a side–by–side complement, not a background, to her vocals. And while Moon Boots’ production on "I Want Your Attention" is reminiscent of deep house, the playful notes he layers on top of the beat give the track a much more lighthearted tone. The chorus’s main line may be “I want your attention,” but, ironically, it's the instrumentals that steal the spotlight in the song.
This spotlight–stealing is something Moon Boots has done throughout his career—finding a way to make brilliant vocal performances seem almost insignificant when they’re layered on top of his polished, kaleidoscopic disco. "Tear My Heart" contains one of the strongest features on the album, thanks to Lulu James, and it serves as somewhat of a “last call” for Dougherty’s upbeat dance tracks—a musical plea for the listener to get down one last time before the closing songs of the album.
The album does have some low points—the song "First Landing," for instance, could actually use some vocals to distract from the lackluster production, and "Utopia" seems instrumentally mediocre at best. But for the most part, Dougherty’s ten–track album shines song after song as a breezy and tropical balancing act of EDM and disco.
