Work This Body


"Work This Body" is a song written and recorded by American rock band Walk the Moon for their third studio album, Talking Is Hard. The song was released to US alternative radio stations as the album's third single on February 23, 2016. It reached number 34 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart. A music video for the song was released on February 12, 2016.

Background and composition

"Work This Body" was written by all four members of Walk the Moon and recorded at Rancho Pagzilla in North Hollywood, California. It was produced by Tim Pagnotta and mixed by Neal Avron at The Casita in Hollywood, California. Mastering was handled by Joe LaPorta at Sterling Sound, New York City.
"Work This Body" is composed in the key of E major at a tempo of 134 beats per minute, and the melody spans a tonal range of B3 to B5. It has been compared to the likes of Vampire Weekend and Animal Collective. Frontman Nicholas Petricca mentioned to Glamour magazine that the guitar solo in the song was inspired by the one featured in Jimmy Eat World's "The Middle".
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Petricca stated that "Work This Body" is a song about "getting my ass in shape and standing up to my fears". Petricca later commented in an interview with The Irish Times that it "is really all about being unafraid to chase your dreams and to go after what you really want".

Release and reception

Walk the Moon premiered the song's single edit on their Vevo channel on January 19, 2016. A live version of "Work This Body" was made available as a digital download and as an instant gratification track for pre-orders of Walk the Moon's first live album You Are Not Alone on February 19, 2016. The song impacted alternative radio stations on February 23, 2016, through RCA Records as the third and final single from Talking Is Hard.
Chris DeVille of Stereogum called the song "late-aughts blog fodder".

Commercial performance

After its release to alternative radio, "Work This Body" peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, making it Walk the Moon's lowest charting placement there. It experienced some minor success in the United Kingdom, reaching number 100 on the UK Download chart and number 87 in Scotland.

Music video

The music video for "Work This Body" was released onto Walk the Moon's Vevo account on February 12, 2016.

Track listing

  1. "Work This Body" – 2:57
  1. "Work This Body" – 4:08

    Credits and personnel

Credits adapted from the liner notes of Talking Is Hard.
;Locations
;Personnel

Release history