Different Moon – “Unstoppable”

Based on a foundational blend of pop, rock an alternative flavors, Different Moon – the project of North Carolina (USA) songwriter/producer Jim Piper – has released three EP’s, fourteen singles, and received over twenty international songwriting nominations. When Piper’s long-time high school friend and fellow keyboardist/songwriting partner, Mike Smith, passed away at the age of 37, he decided to honor Smith’ memory by releasing five songs co-written by the two, in an EP, under the artist name Different Moon in 2015.

“Unstoppable” is the brand new single release by Different Moon. On a constructional level, it feels as though every piece of this upbeat and epic song has been meticulously crafted to eke out as much quivering emotional mass as possible, and even on just the surface level, it delivers a stunning amount of power, beauty and grace. There is also no denying that it has a strong nostalgic aura, recalling the dynamic and anthemic 80’s musical era, which churned out earworm songs by the truckload.

Arriving with absolutely none of the fanfare that major label releases are afforded, “Unstoppable” is a lush and driven arrangement where Jim Piper crafts a burgeoning melody, while ticking every box for what makes a successful pop-rock track, all while moving towards a more epic, synthwave-tinted sound than ever before. This is as musically exhilarating as anything you could have expected from a Jim Steinman-Meatloaf collaboration during their most exiting period.

Jim Piper aka Different Moon is a terrific songwriter, lyricist and producer, with a notable flair for incendiary melodies. The superb and potent vocal delivery certainly adds more fuel to a fire, which is already raging with enormous sonic flames. “Every time my house of cards comes crashing down. I still breathe from the space I emerge from within. Every time they’re confident I’m broken-down. They don’t know when they say that they know who I am,” are the cautionary lines that unleash the song’s narrative.

“Unstoppable” has a potency that emerges almost from the opening bars, but totally explodes into its apex on the choruses. Maybe it’s just a case of how well the composition impacts the atmosphere and the sense of grandeur that comes with its arrangement, but something about this single just hits in a way that constantly delivers and unravels more with each listen.

With every element taken to such enormous heights and allowing the natural emotionality and size to take the driving seat, “Unstoppable” is practically impossible to ignore. In a troublesome time, Jim Piper ditches any pessimistic tendencies and searches for an actual sense of optimism. “Unstoppable” is an empowering and gorgeous testament to a sense of resilient positivity, in the face of adversity.

“Every time I’m stuck inside life’s labyrinth. I break through till I clear all the cobwebs away. Every time life shoots me down I’m spiraling. Fire away I’m not fazed in the cold light of day. Oh I’m on fire. Yeah I’m unstoppable,” are words that speak clearly to the sentiment of self-empowerment. No doubt, “Unstoppable” is geared towards amassing a legion of nostalgic fans worldwide. They just do not make epic songs like this anymore. Well, no, actually, Different Moon still does.