2 x GRAMMY-nominated band The Lumineers are set to return this Friday with their new record – Brightside – following the release of their concept record III in 2019. Pre-order/pre-save Brightside ahead of its release here.
Two years on from the release of their concept record III in 2019, The Lumineers will return this Friday with their new record Brightside, a sweetly melancholic yet hopeful project comprising just 9 songs. It’s a powerful start to 2022 for the band, a remarkably layered and powerful project that brings back the band’s unique ability to build detailed visual vignettes both sonically and lyrically in each song that come together in the tapestry of the entire record to build a complex and beautiful work of art.
Produced by longtime collaborator Simone Felice and produced, mixed, and engineered by David Baron over two sessions in winter and spring 2021 at Baron’s Sun Mountain Studios in bucolic Boiceville, NY, Brightside is the most joyous and spontaneous piece of work that the band have created thus far. Over the nine songs – created virtually – the band establish a hopeful note to start the year, beginning with the title track. “The song ‘BRIGHTSIDE’ was recorded in a single day,” says The Lumineers singer-guitarist and co-founder Wesley Schultz. “It’s like a 15-year-old’s fever dream, an American love story in all its glory and heartbreak. The last couple left, on the run from something and all alone…” That fever dream energy is infused across the rest of the eight songs that follow in a more stripped back, intimately joyful musical journey than their previous III, whilst using their signature sound – the gruff vocals of Schultz at the fore, with beautiful, emotive production. ‘AM Radio’ is up next, a stripped back and swaying pop ballad, with an immensely nostalgic hue. ‘Where We Are’ is an early stand-out, a quietly grooving and swelling melody – a track about believing that ultimately it will all be ok. ‘Birthday’ offers a jazzier, upbeat and quietly joyful feel – perhaps not their most lyrically clever but a lovely sonic moment of reprieve.
‘Big Shot’ is another easy standout, a powerful and poignant moment. Of the track, Shultz shares, “We are all big shots in our own story… and, now, we’ve all been humbled over the last 18 months. The “Big Shot” video was inspired by the 90s, and the storytelling music videos we grew up watching on MTV.” Vocally, it’s the most emotive moment on the record, a moment of reflection on our own status. Elsewhere, The Lumineers dive into a grittier rockier sound on ‘Never Really Mine,’ before a quieter piano lullaby moment on ‘Rollercoaster’ and a lightly 80s-infused sound on ‘Remington.’ The final track ‘Reprise’ is an upbeat, lightly anthemic track that will be a surefire hit in its live retelling – particularly given its ‘traditional’ Lumineers sound.
The tracks on Brightside are not overly produced, giving a raw and quietly contented feel to the entirety of the project. It’s a delightful moment to catch our breath after the past few years, in a quietly contented and joyful space of hope. Brightside will delight fans and music lovers alike.
Purchase tickets to the 2022 tour here.
