Shawn Mullins- Light You Up
The album opens with the devastating one-two punch of the cinematic "California"-which instantly takes it's place alongside such latter-day Cali classics as Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'," David & David's "Welcome to the Boomtown," Beck's "Earthquake Weather" and Mullins' own chart-topper "Lullaby"-and the smoldering, zeitgeist-capturing title track. In terms of their dramatic payloads, these two songs are of a piece, delving into the tattered yet resilient heart of the American Dream. The California setting, to which Mullins returns on "Tinseltown," functions as a microcosm of our collective journey from wide-eyed innocence through bitter experience to the possibility of personal and collective renewal. The thematic thread runs seamlessly into "Light You Up," with it's unsettling spoken verses-"Everybody wants the real deal/Everybody wants to cop a good feel/Everybody wants more money/Everybody wants a taste of your honey"-and intense choruses, as scorching as the San Fernando Valley in August, as Mullins reaches upward to break into his thrilling falsetto: "I just want to light you up/Light you up like a fire/I just want to turn you on/Turn you on and take you higher." Here, as elsewhere, a deeper perspective is embedded in the song's bridge, as Mullins sings, "Yeah this old world can bring you down/Turn your smile into a frown/Break your heart and make you sad/Drive you stark raving mad." Finally, the narrative drops away as the band launches into a surging extended rave-up, further deepening the song's emotional resonance.
Track List
- California
- Light You Up
- Murphy's Song
- No Blue Sky
- The Ghost of Johnny Cash
- Tinsel Town
- I Knew a Girl
- Catoosa County
- You Make It Better
- Can't Remember Summer
- Love Will Find a Way
Shop online 24/7 at Darkside Records.
Follow us on Instagram.
> Due to the current limited nature of music titles, ALL CD & Vinyl purchases are limited to ONE copies per customer, per item. If you place multiple orders for multiples of the same title, your subsequent orders will be canceled.
The album opens with the devastating one-two punch of the cinematic "California"-which instantly takes it's place alongside such latter-day Cali classics as Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'," David & David's "Welcome to the Boomtown," Beck's "Earthquake Weather" and Mullins' own chart-topper "Lullaby"-and the smoldering, zeitgeist-capturing title track. In terms of their dramatic payloads, these two songs are of a piece, delving into the tattered yet resilient heart of the American Dream. The California setting, to which Mullins returns on "Tinseltown," functions as a microcosm of our collective journey from wide-eyed innocence through bitter experience to the possibility of personal and collective renewal. The thematic thread runs seamlessly into "Light You Up," with it's unsettling spoken verses-"Everybody wants the real deal/Everybody wants to cop a good feel/Everybody wants more money/Everybody wants a taste of your honey"-and intense choruses, as scorching as the San Fernando Valley in August, as Mullins reaches upward to break into his thrilling falsetto: "I just want to light you up/Light you up like a fire/I just want to turn you on/Turn you on and take you higher." Here, as elsewhere, a deeper perspective is embedded in the song's bridge, as Mullins sings, "Yeah this old world can bring you down/Turn your smile into a frown/Break your heart and make you sad/Drive you stark raving mad." Finally, the narrative drops away as the band launches into a surging extended rave-up, further deepening the song's emotional resonance.
Track List
- California
- Light You Up
- Murphy's Song
- No Blue Sky
- The Ghost of Johnny Cash
- Tinsel Town
- I Knew a Girl
- Catoosa County
- You Make It Better
- Can't Remember Summer
- Love Will Find a Way
Shop online 24/7 at Darkside Records.
Follow us on Instagram.
> Due to the current limited nature of music titles, ALL CD & Vinyl purchases are limited to ONE copies per customer, per item. If you place multiple orders for multiples of the same title, your subsequent orders will be canceled.