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.
(Here’s the video. 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
www.labrinth.co.uk
BBC Music page
(Fraser McAlpine)
Get To The Front says: “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.”
Flow Nerdia says: “I’ve seen it floating all over my Facebook with a million positive comments.”
Marvin Sparks says: “If this doesn’t hit number 1, I’ll… be very surprised.”
View full post on BBC – Chart blog
