Labrinth - 'Let The Sunshine'
Some songs contain a perfect sense of time and place. You can listen to them on a bus in the rain, in a ditch in the snow, first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and they'll always sound like a moonlit jog, or a moshpit in the middle of a hot festival afternoon.
This song, for example, has the sense of woozy dislocation that comes from having stayed up too late having a brilliant time - maybe even all night - and then trying to function the next day. You're still you, you've got the endorphins whooshing around your system from all the fun you've been having, but your mind has yet to connect with the world at large and you can't really get it together to say anything, in case your throat falls out.
You could be making toast, you could be brushing your teeth or walking to the shops, but somehow reality feels different to the way it normally does. The sun feels wrong on your skin, there's a buzzing behind your eyes, you are powerfully aware of your own body and the moaning, sagging weight of it.
And worst of all, everyone else seems to be totally fine.
(. Is he wearing lip-gloss?)
As a companion to those confusing, blissful moments, 'Let The Sunshine' is close to perfect. Those chuntering rave synths wash in and out, in much the same way as things you have to concentrate on in order to do - doors, walking, breathing - and things you have just finished concentrating on, and have now forgotten. They stroke your jittery skin, they soothe your overheated brainial cortex, and encourage you to make the journey into the new day, much like a mother duck encourages her ducklings over to the pond for a first swim.
And lovely Labrinth is a patient, encouraging friend, helping you piece yourself together, and healing your shattered nerves with his cooling voice. It does help that the song is about enjoying the moment, and focussing on the good things in life. So it's a reminder of the good things you've just experienced, and a demand for concentration.
But only a very passive one, the kind of demand you can meet in your own time, once your head has stopped throbbing and you've stopped having embarrassment flashbacks.
Download: Out now
´óÏó´«Ã½ Music page
(Fraser McAlpine)
"Although Simon [Cowell] was trying to find something edgy with Labrinth, 'Let the Sunshine' is a mixture of soulful crooning and a Hellogoodbye-style electro track which may just be the perfect kind of pop - uplifting, fun and with more than a smattering of talent."
"I've seen it floating all over my Facebook with a million positive comments."
"If this doesn't hit number 1, I'll... be very surprised."
Comment number 1.
At 27th Sep 2010, SamuraisShadow wrote:This will be kept off the top by 'Written in the stars'
Looking forward to the review of thata aswell.
But anyway, this is a great song. I would give it 5 stars, but it's just lacking something, I don't know what...
So FOUR STARS.
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Comment number 2.
At 27th Sep 2010, harrythedog10 wrote:I actually quite like this, it's definately not what I was expecting from Labrinth after the stuff he did with Tineh Tempah, what's nice about it is how understated it feels, which is a bit of a novelty in chart music at the moment.
In short, good track: 4 Stars
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Comment number 3.
At 27th Sep 2010, OddOne wrote:I'll tell you what it's lacking: a decent chorus!
It's just a bit wet after all that build up, and his laid back vocals may convey a sense of relaxation - which I'm sure is the song's goal - but considering it's being released three months late and it's chorus is almost non-existant... 3 stars.
Sorry to be pedantic but the song is saying "Let the sun shine", as a command to get the sun to do the action word "shine", in the title of this Blog, Fraser uses the noun "Sunshine", which should be two separate words.
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Comment number 4.
At 27th Sep 2010, RandomEnigma wrote:I really, really like this actually. I should think it's generic but it has a certain something that elevates it above all the other bland garbage on the radio at the minute.
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Comment number 5.
At 28th Sep 2010, harrythedog10 wrote:@ 3
The chorus is pretty non-existent isn't I can't actually remember how it goes a couple of hours after I've heard it, however I do remember it's good and that whenever I hear it makes me smile which makes me listen to it more than I normally would strangely.
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Comment number 6.
At 1st Oct 2010, kutox wrote:It's a decent song - pleasant, uplifting, has a simple but very nice chord progression, and has a nice meaning to it. But I still can't help feeling a little disappointed after Labrinth showed what he's capable of on Tinie Tempah's first 2 singles. I was excited when I heard he was releasing solo material, but I was hoping for something harder and edgier than this, like said songs. I know Radio 1 have been almost wetting themselves over this song, but it's a bit too light and happy to make a major splash imo - although in fairness he has already done that with some of his work for other artists. But I suppose he wants to put his own stamp on his solo songs - can't expect them to all be the same. I'm sure he does have some edgier stuff lined up for future release though.
Labrinth is gonna be huge anyway, he's an amazing talent and has got all sorts of huge names queueing up to work with him. I look forward to hearing more from this guy.
On another note, it's kinda ironic that Labrinth will probably be beaten to no.1 this week by his mate Tinie Tempah after the work he's done on Tinie's material, isn't it?
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