As I watch the results of the local elections come in with an increasing feeling of dread and resignation, Matthew Spreen’s latest single seems to land with a perfect sense of timing. “Cheer Up!” he says. I wish! But as I play it, I recognize the irony embedded in the song. Forget the optimistic platitudes of the title, the song could just as easily be renamed “Shit Happens” or “Whaddaya Gonna Do?”, a reminder that not everything, well, almost nothing actually, that affects your life is within your power to change, so maybe the best thing to do is put on a brave face and get on with your day.
And this wry but relatable sentiment is driven by the lightest of sounds, akin to a Nick Drake-esque collection of fine musical lines and fragile vocals. But there is a lot more going on hear than first meets the ear, beats tick, sonics wash, pianos chime and brooding basslines pulse, acoustic guitars strum and distant saxophones swoon and soar, but it is all so delicatly woven together, all so gossamer light that even with all these textures layered one on the other, the light still streams through the song – opaque, luminescent and exquisite.
They say you should focus only on what you have power over and let everything else play out as it will. “Cheer Up!” is a soundtrack to that very idea.
