Taking direction from both the cinematic song stylings of sardonic yet unfettered troubadours like Randy Newman, Brian Wilson, and Harry Nilsson and the “visual scoring” of indie pop song placement in 21st-century films, Best Move’s music suggests the sound of a decade of winding, disparate avenues finally convening in a perfect center. The Sacramento-based trio is composed of Kris Anaya, a talented songwriter with a penchant for wry, offbeat guitar-based folk-pop songs; Joseph Davancens, who holds higher education degrees in avant garde composition and jazz double bass; and drummer Fernando Olivia, who keeps things moving with a satisfying and at times minimal rhythmic complement. Together, they formed the electronic act Doombird in 2016, but in 2019 they have gravitated back to what they consider more natural inclinations: organic instruments, earnest songwriting, and a more true-to-themselves direction. Best Move was born.

Many of Best Move’s songs maintain an intentionally similar sonic feel. Guitars strum and piano twinkles while a layer of manipulated or synthesized instruments spread a hazy overtone on top of it all. Lyrically, the standards prevail—love, loss, friendship,