The Sound of Sunshine {Buy the album HERE}
Album Review
4-Stars (****)
By Anthony Kuzminski
- Read my 10/2/2010 live review of Michael Franti HERE
When Michael Franti began making records in the early 1990’s with the Beatnigs and The Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy he had a distinctive way of expressing social and economic oppression with a voice that could conjure up lucid images. For the better part of the next decade, Franti went on to form Spearhead and would continue a career tackling consequential and tacit starkness not often associated with pop music. His gift was and is the ability to bridge a gap between rhythm and blues and to mix it up with soul and hip-hop beats. While other rappers were tackling social injustice on a street level, with each release Franti and Spearhead continually broadened their scope to be worldlier. They also enhanced their craft with every release creating thought-provoking and remarkable records where politics and beats collided. While never one to shy away from divisive topics, Franti and Spearhead used their music to fight back, expose vicious realities and express their inner rage through the sheer volume of their instruments. In 2006, the band released their most mature yet searing album to date; Yell Fire. In my decade-end list, it ranked at number-11. It houses fourteen heady pronouncements about the state of the world which he drew from the inspiration he had from a trip to the Middle East in 2004. Tackling worldly topics as war, love and communication, Yell Fire is the record Bob Marley would have made if he were still alive. Songs like “I Know I’m Not Alone”, “One Step Closer to You” (featuring harmony vocals by Pink) and “See You in the Light” synthesize the best of what they are capable of. The album stands as a testament to the art form of music as it reminds us that there are musicians who take their craft seriously and believe in it so much that it can be used as a tool to steer you through the rough roads of life where you may learn a thing or two in the process. Two-years later Spearhead and Franti returned with All Rebel Rockers an album whose duality is a delicacy- socially charged lyrics paired with rupturing backbeats that wrap around your brain but captivates you like provocative pop. All Rebel Rockers is the soundtrack to accompany you on your leap of faith; a collection of essential hymn’s disguised as swiveling anthems for the ages whose lyrics strike a profound chord in here and now. This time around, instead of a mere cult following embracing the record, the world over wrapped its arms around “Say Hey (I Love You)”, one of the most straightforward yet enchanting songs ever committed to tape. Hearing it, you couldn’t help but sing along and above all else, smile.
One would assume everything has changed for Michael Franti and Spearhead, but to them, all that a hit single has done is allow them to widen their audience and give them a broader board to draw upon. This time around on The Sound of Sunshine Franti and Spearhead have concocted their most infectious and pop oriented recordings to date. The Sound of Sunshine glistens with sharp pop songs that are forthright as they are sincere. Michael Franti has had a rather concentrated career with songs about injustice galloping to the forefront of most of his work. Never afraid to shy away from expressing his concerns of social injustice, he was a man whose music bore more than beats and rhythms but a sociological message impossible to ignore featured magnificently on “People in Tha Middle”, "Chocolate Supa Highway" and "Stay Human (All the Freaky People)". While Sunshine may not bleed hip-hop innovation, it doesn’t have to. Much like Bob Dylan’s last decade of work, where he has embraced the music he loved as a child, Franti reaches far back finding a way to create his music not just remarkable but contagious as well.
The album is bookended by “The Sound of Sunshine” and a variation of the title track, “The Sound of Sunshine Going Down”. It opens with at the start of a new day, where the slate is clean and ready to be written upon and finishes with the sun setting as you surround yourself with those close to you. In between are nine songs that lean on reggae, soul, gospel and rock. “Shake It” has an arrangement and chorus ready-made for stadiums. Spearhead’s towering wall of sound on “The Thing That Helps Me Get Through” compliments the tale of friendship. “Gloria” is a statement of resolute grace (“You see I’m just a little man tryin’ hard just to understand”) while “Headphones” is one of the most sobering yet heartrending songs in recent memory (“Plug your headphones straight into my heart”). The album is drunk on love yet it retains its stirring intensity. When someone is as inherently gifted with a sense of melody and has the ability to synch it up to tribal rhythms as Franti does, it would be a shame for him to not put it to full use. It is as if he captures dozens of melodies in a bottle and unleashed them over 11-songs on Sunshine. He has put his own stamp on it without it feeling cheap or forced. Without question, this is his most accessible record to date. His completely infectious beats hail the listener and persuade them to live in the moment and not letting hate infect you. Michael Frantinow. However, finding reconcilement in the present is more powerful than chasing the past. In fact, in some instances is makes the past irrelevant. So much music these days is about nostalgia which tends to steer you towards memories of who you once were instead of forging new reminiscences. Franti’s music spurs you onward to be grateful for this moment in time, for the skin you currently embody. It’s breathing in the here and now and somehow, it makes your dreams and desires feel within reach. His music, while politically bristling and soulfully serene, has a calming effect. The Sound of Sunshine has made me smile more than any other record I’ve heard all year.
The album’s two principal songs, “Hey Hey Hey” and “I’ll Be Waiting” lure you closer to the light and you have probably never has felt as close as it does here on these two songs. These are more than mere pop concoctions but prayers for those in a crisis of faith. “Hey Hey Hey” (originally titled “No Matter How Life Is Today”), captures of essence of life in one word, repeated three times. It’s a jolting life-affirming anthem and a reminder to hold those close to you…closer. The U2 inspired “I’ll Be Waiting” echoes the sentiments of faith in people in one of Franti’s greatest lyrics; “The best things in life aren’t things/ They’re broken and bleeding”. These songs make your heart swell in a way that will make you feel alive. There will be those who can’t grasp this record. I feel sorry for them; because it’s a trigger for emotions we’ve buried or haven’t felt in a while. It can excavate even the coldest heart urging you to cherish those close to you and to find your faith in the friends and family you have.
At times, I look out into the world and question whether there really is a higher power out there. Despair and misery often outweigh the optimism in the world. However, what we tend to forget is that harmony is within reach. Michael Franti’s The Sound of Sunshine can’t give it to you, but it can send you down the path and its songs can serve as a daily reminder to embrace the light and shun the darkness. How many records do this? The Sound of Sunshine is the culmination of a trilogy of work where one is lost (Yell Fire), is found (All Rebel Rockers) and attempts to teach others with what he has discovered on their journey (The Sound of Sunshine). Michael Franti and Spearhead have achieved romantic nirvana with The Sound of Sunshine where they avoid the trappings of success and thrillingly rely on heartfelt passion to get their points across. It is an intoxicatingly joyous record showcasing Franti and Spearhead at the crest of their powers; their third masterwork in a row.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
