New Track: “Covered In Sunshine” – Goldpark

Nashville-based indie-rock trio Goldpark is back with a new single, “Covered In Sunshine,” off their forthcoming EP. This new track is the very quick follow up to “Lady Lightyear,” the story of a celestial love affair, which was released not even two months ago.

While “Lady Lightyear” was by no means a bad song, it seemed like a misguided experiment. A song like that would, normally, lend itself to some sort of theme within a project, or a continuation of a story, and the group seems to be abandoning a traditional approach for growing the seeds they initially planted. “Covered In Sunshine,” while not as enthralling as “Morning Light,” which is, as I said last time, their best song now and will be their best song 20 years from now, is an absolutely killer tune that perfectly highlights a bassline that is so groovy it could open up a time machine and send you back a few decades. It is as steamrolling as some of both U2 and Jack White’s best work, and feels like it popped up out of a “how to make the best song for an outdoor music festival” generator.

The song is the musical equivalent of “go outside and touch some grass”, but not in a lame attempt at an insult kind of way. Lead singer Wes Hunter, whose indistinguishable voice cuts through you like a knife, sets out to remind you that it, at one point, was very possible to exist without a communication device glued to your hand or in your pocket 24/7, and that the outdoors, and nature itself, can provide a space for self-reflection and/or healing; “Covered in sunshine, part of life. Covered in sunshine, today don’t feel so heavy.”

Lorde’s “Solar Power” had a similar type of vibe, delivering a, depending on where you are in the world, premature but welcome message that it was ok to step out of isolation after a long period of dealing with COVID as a society. However, a slow and uninteresting build, according to some, may have hampered the songs staying power, whereas “Covered In Sunshine” is almost completely full-throttle and manages to constantly build on the energy set in the first verse. While Lorde and Wes Hunter are pretty far apart on the spectrum as singers, Hunter’s airy yet powerful delivery manages to not be swallowed up by the beautiful chaos happening musically. The sheer bombast of “Covered In Sunshine” is the puzzle piece that “Solar Power” was missing. It is the feel-good arena anthem for the hungry post-COVID crowd, and a welcome one at that. Goldpark continues to not allow their indie rock label to define their sound, staking their claim as not only ones to watch, but the next big thing.

You can stream “Covered In Sunshine” here: