The Lottery Winners Show Us The Light On Refreshing New Single ‘Sunshine’

When I come to review a single called ‘Sunshine’, by another artist completely unknown to me, I can’t help expecting it to be exactly what it says on the tin – a slice of summer neatly presented as a concise slice of upbeat pop. Looking at The Lottery Winners’ bubble-adorned cover artwork - with its cotton-candy pink tinge, I put on my headphones and wait with baited breath, but I’ve already got a smile on my face. I’ve got a good feeling about this, because I somehow know that what I’m about to hear will lift me up.

While it is somewhat buried in the mix, the bassline hits me first, a subtle juggernaut guiding me into the thick of the action.

 I’ve always said that any song with a strong and memorable bass part can do no wrong – it’s a low rumble that creeps under your skin and stays there, and before you know it, you’re humming it all day long. From this solid foundation grows a light and charming piece of neo-psychedelia that sounds, in places, like it might owe much to the trailblazing Sgt Pepper or Pet Sounds. 

Katie Lloyd’s voice floats softly and serenely on the surface, bubbles popping around it. Much like the bass underneath, it hooks me in an instant, providing an infuriatingly catchy melody; simplicity in both areas is, I feel, the secret to this song’s success. It extends to the lyrics, too. They tell a tale of contentment, and feeling safe and secure in another person, someone to whom nobody else can compare; as the chorus repeatedly affirms, “You are my sunshine/you are my silver line.”

To call ‘Sunshine’ straightforward could be misconstrued as an insult, an implication of a lack of ambition, but it is neither. It’s an immensely satisfying listen, not unlike an ice-cold glass of lemonade on a sweltering summer’s day. 

This is a single with one mission in mind; to remind you that yes, there are tricky times in life, days when clouds will gather – “Through the day and through the night/through the house and through the town”. But they won’t last forever, so for the next three minutes, why not let The Lottery Winners brighten things up? Press play and listen like I did; sit back, close your eyes, and you’ll soon be floating through a grassy meadow, just like the bubble on the sleeve.

 

Mason Hawker

@HawkerMason

Image: The Lottery Winners, ‘Sunshine’ Official Single Cover (PRESS)