His solo album might still be a little way off, likely early next year, but Barry J Walsh knows how to keep the potential buyers on side. “Suddenly June” is glorious, and there is no better word to describe its third single; it is an explosion of sonic joy and welcoming music, and a perfect taste of what’s to come.
It is perhaps pertinent that not only I’m writing this on the first day of said month, but I am halfway through a Brian Wilson autobiography, as there is more than a little of his sophisticated pop touch and the echo of The Beach Boys dulcet tones emanating from the heart of the song.
It’s a celebration of summer, and what’s not to love? The tarmac is hot, the kids have ice creams, the paddling pools are out, or the car is being loaded up for a trip to the beach, dogs are lazing around in the shade that can be found, and all is right in the world. What better subject matter is there for a pop song than the life-affirming feeling of the world being fully alive, the sun energizing everything, and the feeling that, at least for now, anything is possible?
Banks of vocals harmonize, call, respond, and are filled with happiness; guitar licks flick and flit around, rhythms gently strut along, beats drive, and the sonics shimmer and shine like the sun on the water. Summer is not only here but exploding all around us in a riot of color and, warmth, and well-being!
It is an ornate song, one full of interlocking tones and textures, musical expression and feeling, and unabashed bursts of lyrical joy, and for all that, constructed with enough space that the sun still comes shining through.
A clever song advocating simple pleasures!
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