I debated for the longest time before submitting this song to Jon for the website, because in some ways, this pretty little country-tinged pop ballad is not really Little Hits material. (Although if you liked the Reivers back in their late '80s heyday, it's not at all far of a leap from there to here.) But in another, more philosophical way, it certainly is, because "Brighter Than The Moon" was a song out of its time. If it had been released in the early '70s, during the commercial flush of country-rock, it would have been a fondly remembered radio hit. If it had been released in 1995, when No Depression magazine and its related bands were turning "alt-country" into its own buzzword (and thank god that one won out over the gaggingly bad "y'allternative," a truly icky neologism that I feel dirty just having typed), then Tin Star would have been bejeaned indie kid badasses alongside Hazeldine, the Handsome Family and various bands who wanted to be the second coming of Uncle Tupelo. (And in either case, it would have been better produced: this is definitely one of those records that suffers badly from Late 80s Production, especially in the inappropriately reverb-heavy drums.) But in 1989, the heyday of the Sunset Strip hair metal scene, Tin Star were an L.A. band playing country-tinged pop. They never stood a chance, especially since they were signed to Rhino Records, a label that never did know what to do with new artists. (See also Steve Wynn's outstanding solo debut Kerosene Man, or Chris Stamey's Fireworks.)

-Stewart Mason