SUNSCREEN moves fast, high, hard and happy in “MOVE WITH ME” and its album
By Kurt Beyers
Indie-pop rock artist SUNSCREEN’s tag line is “SUNSCREEN is a feeling.” A good feeling. If his latest release, “MOVE WITH ME,” doesn’t make you feel good, or at least better, watch the video on his YouTube channel.
If that doesn’t do the trick, wait five minutes, play it again. If you’re still unmoved, see a doctor.
“At the end of the day,” he said, “my songs elicit feelings. ‘MOVE WITH ME’ is meant to be a wedding playlist, dance floor song.”
The song starts off fast and kicks into high gear after the intro, which is intended to get people excited and in position to dance “at a wedding or a party or any sort of social gathering.”
“The song itself is about dancing with your partner or your loved one or boyfriend or girlfriend, or whatever, at any sort of social event.”
The video features what looks very much like a large extended family of several generations gathered in a dance choreographed specifically for the video.
“MOVE WITH ME,” the “surf-rock banger,” is the first song on his new, 10-track album EAT SUNSCREEN, released the same day as the single and the video.
The feelings he wants in his music extend to the names he chooses. EAT SUNSCREEN, for instance.
“I was thinking about making this self-titled, since it’s my debut SUNSCREEN album, but I wanted to put a spin on the self-titled business. So, I was thinking, ‘What could I put before or after SUNSCREEN?’ And I thought of EAT SUNSCREEN, and since the album is kind of a blast of happiness and energy and joy, and the EAT SUNSCREEN title put a smile on my face, I decided to go with it.”
He started work on the album in January and made one song a month until he had 10. The working title was THE LITTLE THINGS, because the theme of all the tracks are little things that bring joy.
“You can hear it in any song. Thematically, I’m focusing on the little things in life that bring us joy and happiness and community, that create the in-betweens that make up most of what life is.”
The songs deal with such subjects as being outdoors, being in nature, travel, falling in love.
He put out a six-track EP last year, SMILE, YOU’RE ON CAMERA!, that dealt with an overall theme of meeting and falling in love, inspired by meeting the person who became his wife. He is now coming up on the second anniversary of his marriage.
“And this one is about some of those themes of love and commitment and romance within celebrating all the other little things that bring us joy and pleasure.”
From “MOVE WITH ME”:
One, two, three
Turning up the radio
Cause you and me we got a flow
Follow you wherever you go
Move with me
He has already released eight tracks in advance of the album, with titles like “CHERRY RED SUMMER”; “TAKE A VACATION”; “HEY!”; and “ICE COLD WATER.”
However, do not think that the titles indicate the little things being celebrated in the individual songs.
“Every song is about a specific little thing. If people want to try to figure out what little thing each song is about, there’s a meaning on the surface that they might get, and then there’s a second-level meaning they can get if they’re looking closer.”
He provides a clue: “One of the songs is about my dog, but I never say that.”
And no dog barks from any of the titles.
He began releasing music as SUNSCREEN only last year, when he came out with his EP. That one he did over a two-month period. He loves the songs, but “it kind of felt like it just came and went.”
“It was nice to spend a little bit more time on this record and focus on each individual song.”
But it was a lot of work over an extended period, so what is next for him is “a nap” before getting back to work putting out more singles and another album.
The first singles off EAT SUNSCREEN have been well received.
“This year has been exciting in starting to find my audience. The first EP was somewhat of a shot in the dark to see if anyone would latch on,” he said.
The feel-good vibes in EAT SUNSCREEN, the pure fun and energy of them, are the point. He is not ignoring the pain of life, he says, he is simply focusing on things that bring pleasure.
“I feel like there’s a lot of sad music out there right now and a lot of negativity, and I want to do my part to spread some of the goodness of life with zero agenda other than life is good if you look at it from the right angle.”
Move into the sunlight with SUNSCREEN and connect on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts.
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