(via Shutterstock)
There’s a lot of awful stuff going on in the world.
No newsflash there, alas; what also needs to be mentioned though is that there’s also a lot of good still around which includes these five songs from artists who refuse to let a broken reality get them down.
And while lyrically some of the songs might be brutally honest about life, they keep the music positive and upbeat, a great reminder that no matter how dark things might be, that there’s always a way to see them and tackle them that the spirit buoyant even in the worst of times.
Listen and feel renewed …
“Lift You Up” by Jessie Ware & Romy
(courtesy official Jessie Ware Facebook page)
As places to premiere a song go, you really can’t beat Glastonbury.
The iconic music festival, which took place at the end of June, is thus precisely where British singers Jessie Ware and Romy decided to launch their collaborative single, “Lift You Up”, which is an upbeat tune that aims to make the world a kinder, better place.
In a press release, speaking on ‘Lift You Up,’ Romy shared, ‘I’ve been a fan of Jessie’s music for a long time and it was amazing to finally work together after many years of friendship.… We wanted this song to be uplifting, celebrate togetherness, and I can’t think of a better way to share it with everyone than at Glastonbury.’ (Pitchfork)
To which Ware added:
‘I was so excited to be in the room with my friend and to see how she works and to hear her beautiful voice. I’m so proud of the record. It’s a song that’s about both of us being too hard on ourselves, and not believing enough in ourselves. I think anyone can relate to that.’ (Pitchfork)
And sure media releases are designed to gild the lily and burnish things to a sunny PR shine, but the good news is that the song absolutely matches the waxing lyrical and leaves you feeling a whole lot better than when hit “play”.
“My Oh My” (feat. Bebe Rexha and Tove Lo) by Kylie Minogue
Speaking of brilliantly evocative, atmospheric launch platforms, and yes, see the previous song, we most definitely were, and are, Kylie Minogue debuted her new single, “My Oh My”, a collaboration with U.S. artist Rexha and Swedish singer-songwriter Tove Lo, at an epic concert in Hyde Park on 13 July as part of the BST series.
The setting was magnificent, the crowd wildly devoted and enthusiastic, and the song, which is dancefloor pop of the most infectiously upbeat and feel good kind, was the absolute pitch-perfect addition to a burgeoning setlist full of incredibly contagiously listenable and danceable tracks.
Part of an extension of the previously released album, Tension, from which the monster sleeper hit “Padam Padam” was drawn, “My Oh My” is one of those tracks that seizes from the very first notes and refuses to let go until its final euphoric traces of melody has swum into the streaming stratosphere.
It’s an exquisitely catchy piece of playful pop that sees three people referencing their star signs as they try to find some sort of transient connection in the club; it’s a perfect mix of mischievous lust, danceability and a sense of temporary destiny being realised and it really works in ways that stokes the soul and makes you feel like anything is possible which, with these three talents involved, most likely is.
“Bring Back the Beat” by Pixey
(courtesy official Pixey Facebook page)
To be fair, I wasn’t aware that the beat had gone anywhere but given it has, then having English singer-songwriter / multi-instrumentalist / producer around to bring it back is definitely something you want.
Her song, appropriately titled “Bring Back the Beat”, is an exuberant shot of compulsive joy, a musical love letter which CLASH observes is “[a] fun slice of optimistic pop music, [which] harks back to a vintage sound but does so in a fresh way – the horn lines get twisted, while the beat has an electronic sharpness.”
Possessing, note CLASH, a “four-on-the-floor beat it recalls those epic Wigan Casino stompers from the northern soul archive”, the song is all about, says Pixey, immersing yourself in the sound and the feel.
“‘Bring Back The Beat’ is a very special song to me on this album. I wanted it to sound like a northern soul throwback, a call to move and feel the music. A lot of the singles are more pop heavy, so this track is a nod to my love of sampledelia. (CLASH)
As envisaged by Pixey, the track is incredibly blissfully, all-encompassing, a song that wraps itself around you with some completeness and finality that it feels like a world unto itself that you won’t want to leave.
“Dance With Me” by Tones and I
(courtesy official Instagram account)
It’s funny how one song can blinker you to just how fearsomely talented an artist might be.
When Australian singer-songwriter-record producer absolutely owned and dominated the airwaves and charts back in 2019 with “Dance Monkey”, she faced that great challenge of anyone who releases a monster hit – does it imprisson you as a one-hit wonder or do you grow and develop way beyond that?
After seeing Tones and I support P!NK, in Australia at least, on her “The Summer Carnival” tour earlier this year, it became quickly apparent that the artist is far more than one infectiously upbeat track, and if you need any further proof of that, have a listen to “Dance With Me”.
Drawn from upcoming album, Beautifully Ordinary, which releases 2 August 2024, “Dance With Me” encapsulates that emotional duality of many Scandipop tunes, its music bright, light and vivacious, while it’s lyrics sit very much at the introspectively broken end of things.
The chorus symbolises waiting in the past for someone that’s moved on emotionally, the ‘dancing’ represents your happiest moment with someone and staying in the moment in a last desperate effort to reconnect with them,” she says. “It’s a lonely song but sounds happy. (Rolling Stone)
“Good Life” by Michael Franti & Spearhead
(courtesy official Michael Franti & Spearhead Facebook account)
Hailing from Oakland, California, Michael Franti, is the lead vocalist and creator of partly eponymous band, Michael Franti & Spearhead, that, so says Wikipedia, “blends hip hop with a variety of other styles including funk, reggae, jazz, folk, and rock”.
The band’s latest track, “The Good Life” celebrates sheer, unadulterated positivity, surging forward with infectiously joyous vibes and a compelling need to dance that will not let you sit it out.
It’s giddy musicality is representative of the upbeat wonders of new album, Big Big Love, due out 3 November, about which the artist had this to say.
Everybody has the capacity to love. It starts with loving yourself, then loving your family and friends, your community and out into the world,” Franti, an award-winning musician, activist, and humanitarian, says in a statement. “And it’s not enough just to love and fight for the environment and then not take care of your family at home or vice versa. Big Big Love is making sure you can do both. You can hold space for those that you love the most and for the whole planet, for all of humanity and out into the universe. I feel it’s a message that needs to be heard more than ever. (American Songwriter)
Truer words have never been spoken; as the fascists posture and pose in the U.S. and war rips apart all manner of countries even as climate change sends us spiralling to environmental doom, we need people like Franti and his band who remind us life can be good and wonderful and great.