Sia and Beck Dive Into New Song ‘Moonquake Lake’
Sia and Beck exist on opposite sides of the singing spectrum — the former a big brassy, belter; the latter a soft, wry crooner — but the pair mesh well on their new collaborative effort, “Moonquake Lake,” which appears on the soundtrack to the upcoming update of Annie.
Driven by a fluttering ukulele, Sia takes lead on “Moonquake Lake,” busting out a buoyant patois on the verses. When Beck joins, it feels a bit out of place, like a stoner slacker in a cruise ship conga line, but he puts just the right amount of urgency into his vocals and ends his final lines with a lovely falsetto flourish. As for the song’s jubilant chorus, Sia takes center stage again, belting the elastic, earworm hook, which dives through a sea of rapturous “Na na na”‘s.
“Moonquake Lake” is one of Sia’s several contributions to the Annie soundtrack, which she worked on with producer/songwriter Greg Kurtsin. Along with penning two more original tracks, “Opportunity” and “Who Am I” (and co-writing “The City’s Yours” with Stargate), Sia helped rearrange several numbers from the original Broadway musical, including “You’re Never Fully Dressed Without a Smile,” which she also performed.
The bulk of the Annie soundtrack, however, is sung by the film’s cast, which includes Quvenzhané Wallis, Jamie Foxx, Rose Byrne, Cameron Diaz and Bobby Cannavale. The album is out Tuesday via Roc Nation/Madison Gate Records, though the film — which was produced by Jay Z and Will Smith — won’t open until December 19th.