#softlightes

Softlightes

Heart Made of Sound

Directed by Kris Moyes

There are certain songs that you can go long stretches of time without listening to, and yet when you do eventually return to them, whether it be many months or many years later, it is almost as if you spent no time apart.

The recording "1983" by The Incredible Moses Leroy (former California teacher Ron Fountenberry) falls into this category for me. A favourite go-to-tune circa 2006, I probably hadn't listened to it in a couple of years until it suddenly came to mind the other day when searching for a pick-me-up song for a friend. It still sounded just as irresistible as I remembered it being -- one of those songs that makes it absolutely impossible not to bop your head and smile as it plays. It is also entirely impossible not to hit repeat at the end of the four minutes.

This nostalgic moment led me to revisiting Fountenberry's equally enjoyable other project, Softlightes, a band that released one adorable album in 2006 and then seemed to suddenly disappear. A quick Google search revealed that Softlightes quietly self-released a sophomore album entitled Captain Brokenheart Fights the Infinite Summer back in 2011. After a promising deal with a record label fell through, the band was left feeling discouraged and ready to part ways. As a final farewell to their fans, they made the entire record and its b-sides available for free for download.

Much to my surprise, these recordings included a new version of "1983," (a ten-year-old song at that point) featuring New Order-esque guitar riffs and bass lines, something that I can almost never resist. It's one thing to fall in love with a song all over again, but it's another thing to discover an entirely new version that you can fall in love with, almost as if it is for the very first time. 

Listen: Take it back....

Full song lyrics: Softlightes - Heart Made of Sound

We got stuck in a cloud So we climbed our way down To get help from a friend Cos he’d been where Cos he’d been where we’d been Our friend pointed the way So we said many thanks And we followed his map And we never ever We never ever looked back And as I walked by her laughs The sidewalk started t…